The Course of True Love Never did Run Smooth
by Princess Pheonix Tears
Summary: Draco & Ginny have a mutual, obsessive hatred of one another & they always have. But it was never supposed to be that way. Forces from an outside party are at work & it's going to take terrible circumstances & an agonizing journey to bring them together.
1. Where Draco & Ginny are Born

_**Part One: Love Looks Not With the Eyes**_

**Prologue (Where Draco and Ginny are Born)**

_*Ay me! For aught I could ever read, could ever hear by tale or history, the course of true love never did run smooth.*_

_London, England 1730_  
><em>Department of Mysteries<em>

He was an old man. His form was hunched over from arthritis due to years of bending over a desk in a dark, cramped room. His bones constantly ached and he knew that retirement was in his near future. There was only so much a body could take.

His candle flickered violently and he looked up. In the dim light of the room, he could make out an owl flying slowly through the open door to his little room. He sighed to himself. It was almost time to go home and he did not welcome the extra work.

The owl came to a stop at his desk and carefully dropped a glowing, glass orb in front of the old man. The man sighed again. He did not want to catalogue this prophecy. He wanted to go home.

He thanked the owl and watched as it flew out of the room. He looked down at the prophecy again slowly reached out his fingers to pick it up.

The second his fingers touched the glass, the light coming from within the orb intensified and he was filled with the sound of a raspy, cold voice in his head.

"_For the feud that began in hatred and pain, there is yet a hope for peace. They will be the most powerful children from their houses. Naught will be able to stop them, lest they separate. For together, they shall save the world; apart will surely mean destruction."_

The old man shook his head, trying to clear the fuzzy feeling he always got when he listened to a prophecy. This one, vague as most of them were, puzzled him more than usual. He looked down for the label that went with the prophecy. He found the small piece of parchment on the corner of his desk.

He flipped it over and gasped. There was no possible way that this was correct. These families hated each other! Tension between the two families had been building for years, exploding into a deadly duel between the two youngest daughters from each side just weeks before. Both girls had been killed and now there was a magical feud in place, each side swearing to never give in to the other.

The old man shook his head again. There was no possible way this prophecy would come to pass. It would surely take a miracle. He looked down at the parchment one last time before standing up to place it on the shelf.

_G. Weasley & D. Malfoy_

* * *

><p>The Daily Prophet<br>_Volume 98 * Issue 158 * June 6, 1980  
><em>Marleen's Gossip of the Day

Male heir born to vast Malfoy fortune!

**Baby boy born to the Malfoys  
><strong>Well I have wonderful news to share with all of you, my loyal readers, this morning. Last night, around 11:30 p.m., my favorite couple to write about, Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black Malfoy, welcomed their first born son, Draco Lucius Malfoy, into the world.

Baby Draco is said to be of healthy weight and length. I must say this is quite a relief. We all know that there were some difficulties with Narcissa's pregnancy so it's quite a relief that everyone is ok.

My friend on the staff over at Saint Mungos said that both the mother and the baby are doing well. Hopefully within the next couple of days we can have a picture of the baby to print here in The Daily Prophet.

**Difficult Pregnancy  
><strong>"Both Narcissa and our son are in good health," Lucius Malfoy stated in a press release from early this morning. "They are being kept at Saint Mungos for a few days for observations. Due to Narcissa's complications in the past, the healers feel it would be wise to keep an eye on her for a few extra days than they normally would for a first time mother. We thank everyone for their support in this joyous time."

Unfortunately that is all he said about this "joyous time", but, dear readers, you know that I will have an exclusive interview with him within the next week. We all know how much Lucius loves talking to me.

As we all know, Narcissa has been on complete bed rest for the past eight months since she found out about her pregnancy. Who could blame her after her first two pregnancies ended in heartbreaking miscarriages?

Five months ago when Lucius sat down to talk to The Daily Prophet about the pregnancy he told us, "The healers at Saint Mungos told us that it would be in the best interest of Narcissa and the child if she was put on complete bed rest. She has had many complications with pregnancies and we do not wish to risk the health of Narcissa or the unborn child."

Even on complete bed rest Narcissa was given a 60% chance that there would be a third miscarriage. We're all so relieved that this didn't happen again.

**Wedding of the Century  
><strong>It's hard to believe that it's been six years since Lucius and Narcissa got married. It seems like it was yesterday.

As a member of the press, I was lucky enough to snag an invite to the wedding of the century. I remember that the entire wizarding world was buzzing with excitement over the pending nuptials.

The uniting of two of Britain's most influential pureblooded families was something that we had all been anticipating. The Malfoys and the Blacks had entered into a marriage agreement when Narcissa was still just a baby.

Lucius and Narcissa were married in June of 1974. It was the most beautiful wedding that I had ever been to. It was quite obvious that no expense had been spared when planning the wedding. But why would you worry about cost when you have all the money in the world?

Narcissa was a beautiful bride. I don't think that I've ever seen such a beautiful bride before in all the weddings that I've ever been to (which as you know is quite a lot).

Lucius was quite handsome himself. Merlin, has he aged nicely over the past few years. I know he would never admit it, but I know that he was nervous. It was so cute.

I remember thinking how nice it was that the bride and groom were so in love with each other despite having been a part of an arranged marriage. It's not often that two people in an arranged marriage actually fall in love.

**A History of the Blacks and Malfoys  
><strong>"Among being the only heir to the Malfoy fortune and most likely the Black fortune as well, my son stands to inherit Malfoy Holdings. Not only my business, but he will also inherit the various positions I hold on several different committees I am a member of in an effort to improve our world. He will also see to the continuation of the Malfoy line himself," Malfoy said. "He will see the improvement of the wizarding world. I know my son will be powerful and will change the world with his gifts."

I must say that it is so refreshing to see that this man will instill good morals and values into his young son. I know that I am certainly looking forward to seeing what becomes of baby Draco.

Draco Malfoy stands to inherit from both the Black and Malfoy fortunes. As most of you know, the Malfoy family has had only one heir per generation for centuries. This practice was started around 300 years ago in an attempt to keep siblings from fighting each other over the family fortunes. It is believed that two Malfoy brothers got so angry at each other that they started dueling each other. When their sister tried intervening, she was accidentally killed. Since then, only one son has been born to each generation. And a Malfoy daughter has not been born since then. A lot of people think that it's a curse on the family because of their jealous and greedy tendencies.

Not many people know this, but the Black fortune will go to Draco by default more than anything. Only a few privileged people are aware of this fact, but seeing as how I like to keep my readers informed, I will pass along this juicy piece of information.

The Black family, unlike the Malfoys, currently has its fortune split between two heirs, a daughter, Walburga, and a son, Cygnus. Walburga Black had two sons, Sirius and Regulus. Regulus is now deceased and Sirius was disinherited years ago. It is rumored that he may still stand to inherit his family's side of the fortune since Regulus is dead.

Cygnus Black had three daughters. Bellatrix Black Lestrange has been underground for a few years and has never had any children. If she were to have any children, they would stand to share Cygnus' wealth with Draco. Andromeda Black was disinherited when she married the muggle, Ted Tonks. That leaves us with Narcissa and her newly birthed bundle of joy, baby Draco.

**A Bright Future  
><strong>With his already secured inheritance, Draco stands to live a great life. With the reputation and pedigree of two influential wizarding families, he will have the ability to do anything. I look forward to documenting all of young Draco's milestones here in my daily column.

Well wishers may send their gifts and notes to The Daily Prophet. We have set up an account for the Malfoys to help with the overflow during the next few weeks.

_~Marleen Spungeon_

The Daily Prophet  
><em>Volume 99 * Issue 225 * August 13, 1981<em>

**Recent Births**

**Daughter Born to Weasley Family  
><strong>The Weasley family has been expanded yet again with the birth of one Ms. Ginevra Molly Weasley. She was born two days ago at Saint Mungos sometime in the late afternoon.

This is the seventh and hopefully last child for Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett Weasley. This is the first female born to the Weasleys in some generations, although no one knows exactly how many.

She was of healthy weight and length and it is understood that both mother and child have already been released from the hospital and are doing well.

Well wishers and any inquiries can be sent directly to the Weasley home in Ottery St. Catchpole.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's <em>_Note:_** If this title sounds familiar it's because I had once posted this story (or started to) and then took it down. I have since completely reworked the story and have enough written that I think I can safely start posting again without there being ridiculous amounts of time between chapters.

Some things you may want to know before you continue on is that this is going to be a ridiculously long story. I have 32 planned chapters, and so far chapters are averaging 4,000 words or more! Some are even more than 5,000 words! It's also pertinent to say that this story is so canon it hurts. I have spent a lot of time making sure I have dates and names and such accurate. I will keep everything in canon up until the Battle of Hogwarts (aka the end of Part One) and that is where things will veer off to support the 'ship we all know and love. With that being said, there are instances where I've taken some dialogue from the book. IT'S NOT MINE! Please don't report me. The whole point of this is to tell what happened at Hogwarts from the point of view of Draco and Ginny. In my eyes they are two of the most interesting characters and I wanted to give them their day in the sun.

I think that's a long enough note. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me or leave a review. I hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Where Draco & Ginny Meet

_**Part One: Love Looks Not With the Eyes**_

**Chapter One (Where Draco and Ginny Meet)  
><strong>_*The true beginning of our end.*_

If you were to ever ask Draco Malfoy and Ginevra Weasley (Ginny, to her friends and family) about the first time they met, they'd answer with some story about a bookstore and a fistfight between their fathers. Ginny would say that Draco's father provoked hers, and that her father was completely justified in his throwing the first punch. Draco would say that her father was just a hot head and should learn how to ignore the words of others. This, in turn, would ignite a very big argument from Draco and Ginny. They would probably spend the next ten to fifteen minutes arguing quite loudly, only ending when Draco said something particularly nasty causing Ginny to curse him and walk away with her arms folded over her chest.

But in actuality the first time that Draco and Ginny met was ten years earlier, when they were just babies. It was right after Ginny's first birthday and Draco, of course, was just a little more than two years old. It would be years and years later before they were told of this first meeting, and by that time it would no longer matter.

_August 20, 1982_  
><em>London, England<em>

Narcissa Malfoy had spent the entire day shopping for new clothes for her son, Draco, and was completely worn out. At two years old, he was running around all the time and talking nonstop. He seemed to have a penchant for getting himself into trouble and Narcissa found herself with the full time job of following him around all day, making sure that he didn't cause any serious damage. She had expected her child to be a handful, and she had expected that he would be prone to bursts of uncontrolled magic. What she hadn't expected was how often his "uncontrolled" magic would show up to ruin her day.

This shopping expedition had been particularly hard on her today. Draco had felt the need to run around and grab all the clothes he could get his hands on. She had tried to scold him. She had tried to give him a time out. She had given him an ultimatum ("No ice cream if you don't behave, Draco!" She had warned). She had tried to keep up some sense of decorum when she had to apologize to shop owners and pay for damages. But she had finally had enough. It was time to go home.

After two and a half hours of going through this "game" of run around with her son, Narcissa had finally had enough. Making her decision quickly before she lost her resolve, she went to the apothecary in Diagon Alley and bought a mild sedative. She was now going to take her son to the Leaky Cauldron, by him some lunch, and slip him the mild (children's) sedative in his food so that he would calm down and she could get a few hours of peace. The idea of being able to take a nap herself was so appealing, she actually started to get a little giddy.

Well, that was the plan. But on this day, her plans were not to be followed through with.

As soon as Narcissa walked into the Leaky Cauldron with Draco on her hip, she saw a very familiar and very welcome sight in the form of one, Mrs. Molly Weasley. Narcissa couldn't help the smile that came across her face as she saw her dear old friend and she quickly made her way over to the woman. The thought then crossed her mind that Molly might not want to speak to her.

"Molly?" She asked tentatively. She really hoped Molly would remember her and want to talk to her.

The red haired woman (who was accompanied by a young boy of about 10 or 11 and a small baby) looked up. Upon recognizing the blonde woman standing in front of her, Molly's eyes got wide and a huge smile broke out on her face.

"Cissy?" She asked incredulously.

Molly stood up and immediately embraced the blonde woman. Narcissa used her free arm to hug Molly back. Narcissa pulled back first, and smiled at Molly again. She was ecstatic that Molly was so happy to see her. Narcissa felt her nerves calm down as she made to put Draco down in the booth.

"I'm so glad that I've run into you!" She said as she slid into the booth. She let Draco sit down between her in the wall. How much trouble could he get into while sitting between her and a wall? "Oh, Molly! It's been so long!" She said. "How have you been?"

Molly smiled. "I'm doing just fine. I've been busy, having and raising a family. They take up a good portion of my time." She said. "I always wanted to have a big family, and I've been so fortunate to find a man who wanted one just as big as I did."

Narcissa smiled. She was so happy for her old friend. "These are your children, I take it?" She asked politely.

Molly nodded. "These are two of my children. This is Bill, my oldest. He is going to Hogwarts for the first time in a couple of weeks." Molly said, the pride was just as evident on her face as in her voice. Molly slipped her arm around Bill's shoulders, giving him a little nudge to acknowledge Narcissa.

"Hello, ma'am." He mumbled, a little embarrassed by his mother's behavior. He looked down at his food and started pushing it around his plate with a fork.

Narcissa looked into the pram that was next to the table. "And who is this?" She asked. She started cooing to the little baby who was looking up at her with wide eyes.

Molly's smile grew even wider (if that was possible). "This is my little girl, Ginny." She said. "She's my youngest."

"She's absolutely beautiful." Narcissa said. Narcissa couldn't help but be jealous of Molly. She had wanted to give Draco a little sister, but that would never happen. "How many do you have?"

"I have seven beautiful children." Molly said proudly. "I have six boys and then Ginny here."

"Seven children?" Narcissa exclaimed. She was shocked and jealous all at once. "My goodness! That is quite a few children." She paused and sighed. "I suppose you're lucky, though. I would love to have more children, but Draco is the only child I will ever have."

Molly cocked her head to the side. She couldn't help noticing the look of sadness that came over Narcissa's face. "What do you mean?"

Narcissa sighed again and swallowed hard. She really didn't like talking about this. She was sure that Molly could see the tears welling up in her eyes. "I can't have any more children. I had two miscarriages before I had Draco, and Draco's pregnancy was too difficult on my body. The healers say that if I ever got pregnant again, I would probably die because my body is just not strong enough to handle it."

"Oh! Cissy! That is just awful!" Molly said with shock and concern on her face. She paused for a moment. She shook her head. "I just don't know what to say."

Narcissa shrugged. "I've come to accept it at this point. I'm just thankful that I was able to have one child. Maybe someday when little Draco grows up, he'll have more than one child so that I can have lots of little grandchildren to spoil."

"And how old is little Draco here?" Molly asked, attempting to change the subject.

Narcissa's face lit up at the chance to brag about her son. "He's two." She said happily. Then her face regained the tired look from the difficulties of the day. "He's quite the little handful. I have no idea exactly how many robes he ruined today while we were out shopping. I know children have their moments of uncontrolled magic, but I never knew it would be like this!"

Draco, upon hearing his name looked up from the table and looked at the red haired woman. "I two!" He said excitedly as he held up two chubby, little fingers. "I do magic!"

"That's wonderful." Molly smiled kindly at the little boy and then turned her attention back to Narcissa. As the two women continued to talk and catch up, Draco got bored. He quickly grew tired of listening to his mother laugh with this other lady. He started fidgeting in his seat and decided that he wanted to explore a little bit. He started climbing over his mother, who was so absorbed in her conversation, picked him up and placed him on her other side.

Draco took this opportunity to look into the frilly white pram that was sitting next to the table. He looked down and saw the red haired baby and he smiled down at her. She opened her eyes lazily and smiled back at him. He looked back at his mother and the red haired woman. Neither of them were paying any attention to him, so he started to climb into the pram with the baby. Ginny pulled herself up into the sitting position and stared at the blond boy who had invaded her pram.

It was then that Narcissa realized what he had done. "Draco!" She scolded him. "Get out of that pram!"

"Lady?" Draco interrupted, looking at Molly.

"Yes, Draco, dear?" She responded with a smile.

"What her name?" Draco asked, pointing to the baby.

"That's 'Ginny', dear." She said kindly. Molly shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Cissy. He's not harming her."

Narcissa didn't look so sure. She glanced back at Draco and baby Ginny. Seeing that he was sitting there quietly, she turned her attention back to Molly and their conversation.

Draco was glad that his mother was not paying him any attention and so he continued to stare at Ginny.

"I'se Draco." He said to Ginny.

She cocked her head to the side and smiled at him. "Dake?" She asked.

"No! Draco!" He said a little frustrated.

"Dake!" Ginny exclaimed and clapped her hands together in excitement.

"No!" Draco sighed in frustration. "Silly Gin."

Ginny picked up her rattle and started shaking it vigorously and then handed it to Draco. "Pay!" She said excitedly.

Draco looked at her, a little confused. He slowly shook the rattle, causing Ginny to giggle hysterically. "Pay!"

Draco smiled at the baby. He was happy that she was laughing, so he shook the rattle again. Ginny giggled again.

It was just a few moments later that Narcissa realized what time it was. "Oh my!" She exclaimed. "Look at the time! I need to get Draco home for his afternoon nap. Lucius is going to be home before too much longer and I need to be there when he does."

Molly nodded in agreement. "I need to get home to my children."

Narcissa stood up and picked Draco up from the pram. He immediately started squirming in her arms. "Goodbye, Molly." She said. "I hope I'll see you again."

Molly smiled at her again. "It was so nice to see you, dear." She said. "I have a feeling we'll see each other again, don't you worry."

Narcissa nodded at her and turned to walk away. Draco started throwing a fit as Narcissa walked away. He started yelling and continued to squirm in her arms so violently, she almost dropped him. "No!" He cried out. "No! Gin!"

Narcissa stopped halfway across the room and faced her son, talking to him quietly. She appeared to be scolding him, to which he just shook his head violently. Narcissa spoke again. He responded very loudly. "Gin!"

Narcissa sighed and turned around walked back towards the table. "Molly, he would like to say goodbye to the baby."

Molly nodded and smiled at her. "That's no problem, dear! They had fun, let him say goodbye."

Narcissa leaned over the pram. Ginny was now standing up in the pram, holding on to the edge as she looked up at Narcissa and Draco.

Draco leaned down and gave Ginny a kiss on the cheek in the grand fashion of a two year old. "Bye Gin." He said softly.

"Bye?" Ginny asked sadly, her head cocked to the side. She looked as if she was about to cry. "Bye Dake."

Pouting, Draco turned back to his mother. "We go now."

Narcissa smiled sweetly at her son. "Good boy." She said. She patted his back gently, in an attempt to comfort him. She said her goodbyes to Molly one more time and turned to leave.

Draco would be in a somber mood for the rest of the afternoon. It broke Narcissa's heart to see him so upset, but she couldn't help but be a little thankful that he had taken so well to another child. It had actually been quite odd for him to become so attached to another person so quickly. She paused in her walk into the Manor. She wondered if she should be concerned at just how insistent he had been in sitting with the Weasley girl. She shook her head and dismissed her thoughts as ridiculous. He just didn't get a chance to interact with other children a lot, and this gave her hope that he would grow up to be a sweet, little boy. Her heart swelled with pride.

Narcissa also couldn't help but be so glad that she had run into Molly Prewett, er, Weasley.

The two women had been so close back in Hogwarts. Granted, Molly was a few years older than Narcissa, but the two women had bonded almost instantly as little girls. Molly had quickly become an older sister-like figure to Narcissa, who constantly felt distant from her own sisters. Narcissa had been able to confide in Molly about her family troubles and her impending arranged marriage to Lucius Malfoy. And Molly had been a support system for Narcissa during their time at Hogwarts, and Narcissa liked to think she did the same for Molly. Especially when Molly confided in her that she was in love with Arthur Weasley and planned to run off with him after they graduated Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, they had lost touch after Molly graduated and did, indeed, run off with Arthur Weasley. Narcissa found herself spending more time with Lucius and actually growing a little fond of him. The two women had tried to exchange a few letters, but found it increasingly difficult to do so when things with the Dark Lord started coming to a head. They found themselves on two separate sides of a war.

But today had proved that their bond was still strong. And Narcissa couldn't help the smile she had on her face for the rest of the day.

_August 11, 1984_  
><em>Kensington Gardens, London, England<em>

The second time that Draco and Ginny met it was about two years later. Draco was now a precocious four year old and it was Ginny's third birthday.

Molly was bringing her youngest child (and only daughter), Ginny, to the park for her birthday. It was supposed to be a mother/daughter day in celebration of her daughter's third birthday. But as she approached the playground, she saw an old friend that she hadn't seen in almost two years.

"Cissy!" Molly exclaimed happily.

The tall, blonde woman looked up at the sound of her old nickname and was shocked to see Molly Weasley standing right next to her.

"Molly!" She replied just as happily. She stood up and embraced her old friend. "It's so wonderful to see you! How long has it been? Two years?"

Molly nodded. "Just about! How have you been?" She asked as she put Ginny down on the ground and pulled out the picnic blanket she had brought with her. The two women quickly lapsed into a pleasant conversation catching up on the gossip they had missed with each other the past two years.

Ginny, who was very put out that the pretty blonde lady was talking to her mum without her, decided to wander around the play ground. She folded her arms over her chest and started to look around, wondering what there was to do here. It didn't take her long to see a little boy with the same kind of hair as the pretty lady. She walked up to the boy who was playing with a stick in the mud.

"Is that your mum?" She demanded of him, pointing in the direction of her own mother.

The little boy looked up, startled that he had been interrupted. He looked towards where she was pointing. He nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's my mum."

Ginny folded her arms over her chest again and frowned at him. "Tell her to leave my mum alone!" She said grumpily.

The boy stood up and looked at her, his head cocked to the side. "Why?"

"Because it's my day with mum!" She cried out. "It's my birthday!"

The little boy looked confused. "What's your name?"

Ginny glared at him. Angry at him for not doing what she said. "I'm Ginny. Who are you?"

"Draco Malfoy." He responded shortly. "What do you want?"

She stomped her foot. "I want your mum to leave my mum alone! It's my day with mum!" She said angrily.

"Don't you spend every day with your mum?" Draco asked, folding his arms across his chest, mimicking Ginny's movements.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I see her all the time, but I don't get to spend 'lone time with her all the time! My brothers get most of the 'ttention." She said. "Don't your brothers get most of the 'ttention?"

"I don't have any brothers." Draco said defensively. "How many do you have?"

"Six." She responded shortly. She was not liking his questions. "Don't you have a sister?"

"No."

Ginny dropped her arms to her side and cocked her head to the side. "Don't you get lonely?"

Draco glared at her. "I have house elves." He said angrily. Ginny gave him a sad look. He glared at her. He did not like the look she gave him.

"Do you want a friend?" She asked him.

Draco looked at her for a minute. She had big eyes and freckles on her nose, but she didn't seem so bad. "I s'pose you're ok." He said. "My dad makes me play with stupid boys all the time. I don't get play with the boys I want to play with."

"My daddy makes me play with my brothers. I don't like it sometimes." Ginny said, sitting down and picking up the stick that Draco had been playing with moments earlier.

Draco sat down next to her and picked up another stick. They started drawing pictures in the mud. It was a few minutes later that Draco looked over at her.

"Won't your mum get mad that you ruined your dress? It's all dirty with mud and grass and stuff." He said.

Ginny shrugged. "It's play robes. They're s'posed to get dirty." She said, still dragging her stick through the mud. He inspected the pale pink dress and found that it was pretty simple. There weren't any ribbons or flowers or lace on it like the other girls Draco had seen. It was a plain dress and Draco wondered what she would look like in the frilly dresses the girls he usually saw wore.

Draco just looked at her like she was nuts, but didn't say anything else. He continued to draw in the mud along side of her. The silence was companionable. After another few minutes later Ginny put her stick down in triumph. She looked over at Draco.

"See?" She asked, pointing to her drawing.

Draco looked over to see to crude stick figures. "Who are they?" He asked. They appeared to be touching, but he had no idea what was going on. He wasn't entirely sure they were even people. Draco looked directly into her eyes as he waited for his answer. Even at a young age, Ginny realized that Draco looked at her differently than anyone else she had ever known. She had never met anyone who looked her directly in the eyes.

She beamed at him. "It's us!" She cried out excitedly. "See?" She pointed to the figure on the right. "That's you." She pointed the figure on the left. "That's me! We're holding hands, see?"

Draco looked over and noticed that the 'person' on the left did seem to have a skirt on. "That's us?" He asked. "Why are you holding my hand?"

She looked at him like he just asked why the sun was yellow. "Because you're my friend! Silly Draco." She said. She picked up her stick and started drawing flowers around them. Draco watched her for a few moments, completely enthralled by the strange girl sitting next to him. He had never met anyone like her before.

"I like you." He said simply. "You're fun."

She smiled. "I like you too."

Ginny and Draco sat in the mud and continued to draw pictures for the next half of an hour. They spent their time giggling at each other's pictures and every once in a while, Draco would grab Ginny's hand and Ginny would smile back at him.

It wasn't too much longer that Molly realized just how much time had passed since she started talking to Narcissa. When Molly realized that Ginny was no longer beside her, she started to look around frantically, calling out her name. She finally found Ginny several yards away sitting next to Draco in the mud, giggling at something he had just said. Molly sighed when she saw how dirty Ginny was and she turned to Narcissa.

"Well, I need to go get my little girl and clean her up before her birthday party with the family tonight." Molly said, a hint of frustration in her voice. "I can't believe she's playing in the mud."

Narcissa's eyes drifted over to where Molly was looking. Her eyes then widened in shock when she saw her son, sitting next to the red haired girl. He was filthy!

"Oh my! Draco!" She called out, getting up and going over to him. "What are you doing?"

Draco looked up to see his mother standing over him, followed by the red haired lady. "I'm playing with Ginny." He said simply. "She's my friend. Can she come over?"

"Draco, you know better than to play in the mud!" Narcissa scolded him as she ignored his question. She reached down and tried to pick him up but he swatted her hands away. He turned to face the ground again, continuing to draw with his stick.

"Ginny!" Molly admonished her daughter. "We need to go home now. I need to clean your dress before the party tonight."

Ginny looked up at her mother and frowned. "I don't want to go." She took turned back to the ground and started drawing again.

"Ginny!" Molly scolded as she placed her hands on her hips. "You know better than to talk back to your mum!"

"You were talkin' to that lady." Ginny pointed up at Narcissa. "So I came and played with Draco."

Molly looked at Narcissa and shrugged. She turned back to her daughter. "Ginny, we need to go now."

Ginny glared at her mother. "No! I want to stay here with Draco! I don't want to go home with you!"

Molly's eyes widened. Ginny had never acted this way before, being so blatantly disobedient. Before she could say anything, Narcissa spoke up. "Draco, we need to go home too. It's almost time for your nap."

Draco glared at his mother just as harshly as Ginny had glared at hers. "No! I want to stay with Ginny!"

Molly grabbed Narcissa's hand and pulled her aside. "Cissy, what is going on here? I have never seen Ginny react so strongly to a child she's just met. She has never talked back to me like that before. Has Draco ever reacted this strongly to another child he's just met?"

Narcissa shook her head. "No, Draco doesn't usually get along with children his age. Lucius makes him spend time with the Goyles and the Crabbes. Draco doesn't like them very much. He is usually anxious to get back home."

Both women were quiet for a moment as they observed their children. Draco and Ginny were silent for a moment before Draco leaned over to whisper something in her ear. Ginny started giggling and leaned her head on his shoulder. Narcissa and Molly both gasped out loud at the sight of their children being so friendly with one another. This was not something either of them had been expecting, not with the way they were being raised.

Molly sighed. "We need to do something. It's bad enough that you and I are friends. What are our husbands going to do if our children come home and start talking about their new friend? With the way _things_ ended a couple of years ago, I don't think it would do well for our children to play together again."

Narcissa nodded her agreement. She looked back over at the two children. Draco had his arm around Ginny who was chattering on about the flower in her hand. The sight warmed her heart, because she hadn't been untruthful. Draco didn't have any friends. He had peers. It broke her heart that he didn't have any real friends.

Narcissa had an idea. It was a drastic idea, but she could think of no alternatives. She didn't want to do this to her son, but she knew it was necessary.

"I have an idea." Narcissa said softly. "But it's a little drastic."

"Go on." Molly said impatiently.

"I can cast a memory charm on them, so that they'll forget this afternoon. Then I can cast a spell that will keep them away from each other so that this doesn't happen again." Narcissa explained. She paused for a minute to catch Molly's reaction.

Molly's eyes went wide. "Cissy, that is a little drastic. Isn't there another way?" Even as she spoke the words she knew that it was the only way.

"Molly, it's the only way. Draco doesn't attach himself to anyone like this. There's some kind of bond here and we need to put an end to it before our husbands find out about it." She paused. "Molly, I have a feeling this is going to keep happening again and again. Don't you remember how well they got along two years ago? I can't let my husband find out that Draco has been playing with a Weasley. You know I love you, but he has his beliefs and there is nothing I can do to change them. You know my husband can be dangerous!"

Molly nodded sadly. She took a deep breath before saying. "Ok, fine. Let's do it."

The two old friends turned toward their children and walked back towards them. Narcissa grabbed Molly's hand and she pulled out her wand and pointed it towards the two children. Molly heard her whisper the two spells, and she discreetly put her wand back. She continued to clutch Molly's hand as they watched the two children. What they saw next would nearly break both of their hearts.

Draco said something to Ginny that neither woman could make out, but there was no mistaking the snarl in his voice. Ginny's head snapped towards Draco and she glared at him. "Stupid Draco!" She cried out. She slapped him on the arm. Molly's eyes widened again and she made a start towards her daughter.

"Ginny!" She scolded her. "We do not hit! You know better than that!"

Ginny stood up and started brushing off her dress. Draco stood up next to her, glaring at her as harshly as he could. The difference in their demeanors was unbelievable. As soon as she finished brushing off her skirt, he pushed her back down in the dirt and mud. Draco laughed at her when the mud splashed up onto her face and neck. Ginny looked down at her dress and started to cry. Draco stomped towards his mother with his arms folded across his chest.

"Draco Malfoy!" Narcissa scolded him. "That was very rude! You apologize right now!"

He shook his head. "No! I want to go home!" He said angrily.

Molly was helping her daughter up out of the mud and trying to console her. She looked up at Narcissa. "I'm sorry, Cissy. She shouldn't have done that." She said sadly. She knew she should probably be angry at little Draco like any mother would be, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He had just lost his only friend. And as much as she hated to admit it, Ginny had just lost her only friend too.

Narcissa shook her head sadly. "He shouldn't have pushed her." She paused. The frown lines in her forehead creased deeper. "But this is what we wanted, right? We wanted to make sure that they'd never find each other like this again."

Molly nodded. She felt a few tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke again. "I don't know when I'll see you again, Cissy, or if I'll see you again. We can't allow this to happen again. We can't be friends and our children can't play together. Arthur would never forgive me if I let our children anywhere near 'death eaters'."

Narcissa didn't speak, she just nodded her agreement as she took Draco's hand into hers. The harsh truth of Molly's words cut her like a knife to her heart. Draco was trying to drag her away from Molly and Ginny as Narcissa looked at _her_ only true friend and confidant.

"I'll miss you, Cissy." Molly finally said, standing up. "But you have to know that I will always love you and I will always consider you a friend." She held Ginny close to her chest as she walked towards her old friend.

"I'll miss you too. You've been more of a friend than anyone I've ever known. Merlin, you've been more of a sister than either of my real sisters. Thank you for your friendship." Narcissa said as she embraced Molly. "Goodbye, my friend."

Molly gathered up her things and she left the park. Her heart was heavy at the thought that she'd never see her dear old friend again. Molly looked at her daughter who was still crying quietly in her arms. But she had to keep her daughter safe, and in the end it was for the best…

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's<strong>** Note:**_ Well, lovelies, I hope you enjoyed it. I uploaded this chapter rather quickly so that we could get into the story a little bit more and give you a taste of what you're in for. It will probably be awhile before I post again. Maybe a week or so, we'll see how it goes. I don't want to post everything too quickly and then run out of material to post and leave you hanging for weeks! :)

Let me know your thoughts?


	3. Where Draco & Ginny Attend Hogwarts

_**Part One: Love Looks Not With the Eyes**_

**Chapter Two (Where Draco and Ginny Attend Hogwarts)  
><strong>_*And therefore is Love said to be a child, because in choice he is so oft beguiled.*_

_August 19, 1992  
><em>_Diagon Alley, London, England_

Ginny was thrilled to be out in Diagon Alley buying school supplies for her first year at Hogwarts. She stuck close to her mother as they pushed through the crowds of Diagon Alley. Her mother was just beside herself with worry at the thought that Harry might be stuck somewhere in a chimney. Her father, Fred, George, Percy, and Ron were not far in front of them as they searched frantically for Harry Potter.

They had been wandering around for about fifteen minutes when they saw the familiar, messy black hair walking next to a giant man with messy brown hair. Ginny's heartbeat quickened when she saw him. Her mother hurried her pace.

"Oh, Harry –oh, my dear—you could have been anywhere—"

Ginny listened as her mother breathed heavily as she pulled out a brush to dust the soot off of Harry's face. Her father took his glasses and quickly repaired them and gave them back to Harry.

"Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't found him, Hagrid!" Her mother proclaimed, grabbing Hagrid's giant hand.

"Well, gotta be off." Hagrid said, as Ginny's mother squeezed his hand. "See yer at Hogwarts!"

Hagrid walked off, back towards Knockturn Alley. Ginny watched with wide eyes as the giant walked off. She turned her attention back to Harry when he started to speak.

"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked, his attention on Ron and Hermione. They were walking into Gringotts. "Malfoy and his father."

"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" Ginny's father asked sharply from behind the trio.

"No, he was selling—"

Ginny saw a strange smirk on her father's face. "So he's worried." He said grimly. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something…"

"You be careful, Arthur." Her mother said quickly as they walked past the goblin at the door. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew—"

"So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" Her father asked, quite upset at his wife's lack of confidence.

His attention was taken away from the conversation when he saw Hermione's parents. They were standing at the counter and looked a little nervous and scared.

"But you're _Muggles_!" Her father said excitedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" Ginny had never seen her father so excited before.

At that time, the Weasleys and Harry were led to the underground vaults by a goblin. Ginny was a little terrified and excited all at the same time at the fast journey to the Weasley vault. She was slightly embarrassed to see how little was in her family's vault. She couldn't help but stare with wide eyes at the amount of gold in Harry's vault. She couldn't help but be a little envious of the young wizard.

As they left Gringotts, they decided to split up. Ginny didn't pay any attention to where Percy said he was off to, but heard Fred and George say they found a friend from Hogwarts that they were going to catch up with. Her mother said that they were going to go off to a secondhand robe shop to find some "new" robes for Ginny. Ginny heard her father ask the Grangers to go with him to the Leaky Cauldron for some drinks.

"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks." Her mother said, grabbing Ginny's hand. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" She shouted at the twins.

Ginny was not happy to be going to get fitted for robes. She wanted desperately to go off with Ron, Harry, and Hermione. She sat as still as she could while her mother found her a few "new" robes.

The hour passed by so slowly that Ginny thought she was going to die from boredom. When they finally left the robe shop to head to Flourish and Blotts, Ginny couldn't help but get excited at the thought of seeing Harry again and getting her first set of schoolbooks.

As they approached the shop, Ginny saw a huge banner over the upper windows. She saw a huge crowd trying to push their way into the shop and she felt her mother's grip tighten on her hand.

Gilderoy Lockhart

**Will be signing copies of his autobiography**

_Magical Me_

**Today 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.**

Ginny quickly saw her father and the Grangers standing in one corner, and she started to walk towards them. She hoped that Ron, Harry, and Hermione would be here soon. She wasn't disappointed. A warm feeling filled her entire being. She was truly happy for the first time since she could remember. She smiled at the thought that she would feel this way for the next seven years while she attended Hogwarts.

"Oh, there you are, good." Her mother said with a slight sigh. Ginny saw her mother pat her hair and straighten her clothes. "We'll be able to see him in a minute…"

Ginny looked over to see Gilderoy Lockhart sitting at a table with large pictures of his face surrounding him. They were all winking flirtatiously and flashing his dazzling white teeth. Ginny then noticed a short, grumpy man with a big camera taking pictures. The camera was blinding whenever it flashed, emitting a purple smoke.

"Out of the way, there." He snarled at them, moving all around to find a good shot. "This is for the _Daily Prophet_—"

Ginny heard Ron grumble. "Big deal." As he rubbed his foot.

This must have caught Lockhart's attention because he looked up. The look of recognition dawned on his face as his eyes fell on Harry. He stood up quickly.

"It _can't_ be Harry Potter?" He asked in excitement.

The crowd started to murmur and whisper in excitement as Lockhart came forward, grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him to the front of the crowd. Ginny saw that Harry's faced turned a bright red color as Lockhart grabbed his hand and shook it for the photographer. Ginny started coughing with all the purple smoke from the camera.

"Nice big smile, Harry." She heard Lockhart say softly. "Together, you and I are worth the front page."

Ginny saw Harry wince as Lockhart released his hand. She saw him make a start towards her, er, her family, but he was stopped when Lockhart threw his arm around Harry's shoulder.

"Ladies and gentlemen." Lockhart started in what Ginny thought was a very fake tone of voice. He waved his hand to hush the crowd. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!

"When young Harry here stopped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography—which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge—" He paused for the crowd to applaud him.

"He had _no idea_…" Lockhart continued, shaking Harry and causing his glasses to slip. "…that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, _Magical Me_. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

The crowd went wild at the announcement and Ginny watched as a pile of books were dumped into Harry's arms. He started walking towards her, and her heart picked up its pace. She patted her hair and tried to dry her sweaty palms on her clothes.

"You have these." He said to her, dumping the books into her cauldron. She stumbled slightly at the added weight to her cauldron. "I'll buy my own…"

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" Came a distinctively condescending voice. Ginny looked over to see a boy with platinum blond hair and a sneer on his face. Ginny didn't know who this boy was, but she could already tell that she didn't like him. She had no idea if it was the sneer on his face, the immaculate state of his robes, or how perfectly his hair was slicked back, but she could tell that she would never like this boy.

A feeling she couldn't identify filled her entire being. She felt so full that she feared she might burst from her very skin. As she looked at the boy, the feelings intensified and her skin started to crawl. She glared at him as hard as she could.

"_Famous_ Harry Potter." He said. "Can't even go into a _bookshop_ without making the front page."

Ginny's blood was boiling. "Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" She cried out in his defense. She glared at this boy with all the energy she had in her. She had no idea what exactly had come over her, other than she liked Harry and didn't want to see this bully picking on him.

"Potter, you've got yourself a _girlfriend_?" The boy said sarcastically. Ginny felt herself blush and couldn't help but get angry at her traitorous cheeks. Ginny felt Ron and Hermione come up behind her.

"Oh, it's you." She heard Ron say. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"

The boy smirked at him. "Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley." He retorted. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."

Ginny knew that would get Ron. He lunged forward in attempt to grab the blond boy, but Harry and Hermione held him back.

"Ron!" She heard her dad yell out. He was pushing his way through the crowd to get to the kids. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well—Arthur Weasley." The voice was smooth and cold, and very unpleasant. She looked over and saw an older version of the boy she was just glaring at. She still had no idea who these people were, but she could tell that she already hated them. Especially that boy. There was something about him that just made her skin crawl.

"Lucius." Her father said in a cold tone. She hadn't ever heard him be so cold before.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear." The older man said. "All of those raids…I hope they're paying you overtime?"

Ginny wanted to slap him when he reached down into her cauldron and picked up a very battered copy of _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_.

"Obviously not." He said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Ginny watched as her father blushed even harder than she had ever seen before.

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy." He said coldly.

Ginny's head snapped up and she looked from the boy to his father and back to the boy. So these were the Malfoys. She knew that some day she'd come face to face with them, and now she had. She glared even harder at the boy who stood so proudly by his father. She wanted to wipe the smirk off his face with her fist.

Her blood was still boiling and anger coursed through her veins at the mere sight of this boy. She was slightly confused at the strong reaction she was having to this boy, but she didn't think on it for long. She wanted hit him so badly, but she knew that she would have to hold back. So with all the willpower in her little body, she kept her hands to herself and bit her tongue.

"Clearly." Mr. Malfoy said. She watched as his gaze wandered over to the Grangers. "The company you keep, Weasley…and I thought your family could sink no lower—"

All Ginny heard was a thud and she felt her cauldron drop as her father threw himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him into a bookshelf. A bunch of spell books crashed down on all of them. She thought she heard Fred yell out, "Get him, Dad!" but she couldn't be sure in all the confusion.

"No, Arthur, no!" Her mother cried out.

Ginny watched in horror as the crowd tried to back up in an attempt to get away from the fighting wizards. They knocked over even more bookshelves. That was when the assistant in the shop tried to intervene.

"Gentlemen, please—please!" He said, but he was interrupted by a very loud voice.

"Break it up, there, gents, break it up—"

Ginny looked up to see the giant, Hagrid, standing in the bookstore. Before anyone else could throw another punch, he had picked up both men and separated them. Ginny noticed that Mr. Malfoy had a black eye and her father had a cut lip. Mr. Malfoy still had her book, and thrust it back into her cauldron.

"Here, girl—take your book—it's the best your father can give you—" He said angrily as he pulled himself away from Hagrid. He gestured to the boy and they quickly left the shop.

Ginny saw her father touch his cut lip, while Hagrid spoke to him. "Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur. He said. "Rotten ter the core, the whole family, everyone knows that—no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter—bad blood, that's what it is—come on now—let's get outta here."

They all left the shop, and Ginny could tell that it was going to be a long day. Everyone was upset, including herself. All she could think about was that boy and the smug look on his face. Her mother was absolutely livid.

"A _fine_ example to set for your children…brawling in public…_what_ Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought—"

"He was pleased." Fred said. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report—said it was all publicity—"

No one else spoke for a few more minutes. Any other conversation during the day was kept quiet and to a minimum. No one felt like disturbing the tension that had taken over the family. Ginny couldn't seem to stop fuming no matter what she tried to do. For the rest of the day, she constantly thought about the blond boy from the bookstore and what she'd like to do to him the next time she saw him.

The rest of the day didn't go much better for Draco.

He had started off the day quite excited to be going into Diagon Alley for a shopping expedition. He was even more excited when he found out his father had business in Knockturn Alley and he'd be able to go and check a few things that were full of Dark Magic.

He'd been sorely disappointed with his trip to Borgin and Burkes shop. He assumed that when his father said he'd buy Draco something, that it would be something from the Dark Magic shop. He'd been quite put out when he was denied this present and even more put out when his father pointed out his obvious lack of pride in his son's grades. Embarrassed, Draco was ready to head to the much more "cheerful" Diagon Alley. He figured that a new racing broom would be better than no present at all.

What he hadn't been planning on was that stupid crowd at Flourish and Blotts…all there to see the (apparently) new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Lockhart and his stupid books. What he also wasn't happy to see was a bunch of red haired Weasleys running through out the store. He could just vomit, they were so foul.

He had taken great pleasure in taunting Potter, the Weasley, and the Mudblood. He had even taken pleasure in the fact that he embarrassed the girl Weasley when she stepped forward to defend Potter.

What he hadn't taken great pleasure in was just how angry he got during the exchange. He saw that Weasley girl and he started to get much more angry than he usually did when talking to the boy Weasley. He had been glad when his father stepped in, because he was afraid that he would start behaving in a way that was unbecoming of a Malfoy.

The other thing he didn't expect that day was for his father to get into a brawl with the old Weasley. Draco had been shocked, and if he was honest with himself, a little embarrassed by the way his father had behaved in the bookstore. Being the spoiled and bratty little boy that he was, Draco wanted to go run and tell his mother how badly his father had behaved. But he knew he'd be risking his father's wrath if he did anything like that.

After his father took him home, Draco went straight to his room and closed the door. He sat on his bed, looking around at his nice things and thinking about that stupid, little Weasley girl. Not many stood up to him. He normally took that as bait to keep going, like a challenge he needed to win. Whenever someone decided to throw a comment back in his face, Draco found immense pleasure in turning it into a competition. First one to cry loses.

And Draco had never lost.

But now he found himself angry at the girl for talking back to him. He had never gotten so angry so quickly before in his life!

As he sat on his bed, he folded his arms over his chest and tried to think of all the different things he could do to the girl Weasley the next time he saw her.

_September 1, 1992  
><em>_Hogwarts Express_

By the time that September first had rolled around, all thoughts of the unpleasant encounter in the bookstore were gone from Ginny's mind. They were all on their way to Kings Cross Station in London to take the train to Hogwarts. Ginny was ecstatic that her day had finally come. That she was finally able to go to Hogwarts to start her education. She had been waiting for this day ever since Charlie had gone off for his first year.

She skipped merrily with her trolley towards the gateway to the Hogwarts Express. She paid her brother and Harry no mind as she made the run toward the barrier. She was so excited about her surroundings that she didn't even realize that Harry and Ron hadn't followed the rest of the family. The happy and bubbly feeling was back in her chest and it made her feel giddy. She felt as if she was on her broom, flying just a little higher than she was supposed to. She felt alive and it excited her.

Ginny followed her mother towards the luggage area where she handed over her trunk and belongings to be loaded onto the train. She could barely contain her excitement as she gave her mum and dad a final hug goodbye before boarding the train.

She wandered down the corridor looking for an empty compartment when she ran straight into something hard. She fell backward on her rear with a loud "oomph!"

She glared up at the person she had run into. Upon seeing the familiar blond hair, she intensified her glare.

"Watch the bloody hell where you're going, Weasley!" Malfoy snarled at her. He glared down at her with his arms folded across his chest. "Are you blind as well as poor? Has your love of your precious little _boyfriend_ made you stupid?"

Ginny stood up in one fluid motion that startled Draco for the briefest second. He would have never guessed that a Weasley could be so graceful. He returned his focus back to the female Weasley standing in front of him.

"How dare you, Malfoy!" She cried out. "You don't know me, so don't you dare judge me! _And Harry is __**not**__ my boyfriend!_"

He smirked at her. The feeling he identified as anger coursed through his veins. "You're all the same. Red haired, dirt poor, muggle-loving trash!"

"You know what your problem is, Malfoy?" Ginny shot back. Her voice was starting to rise. She tried to push the hysteria down. "You judge people without even knowing them! You'd rather judge someone by their looks instead of what's inside-"

"Don't give me that bloody shit!" He yelled at her, cutting her off. "Don't stand there and act all high and mighty! You do the same bloody thing by judging me!"

"That's not true!" Ginny cried out. She did not like where this was going. She did not like that he was putting her down while making a rather valid point, even if she didn't want to admit to it.

"Yes, it is!" He yelled back. His fists were clenched at his sides. "Don't you dare try to make yourself out to be better than me! You will never be better than me, you stupid muggle-loving witch! You judge people too…I just do it with more money, better things, and a prettier face than yours!"

Ginny didn't know what to say. She didn't want to admit that he could be right. She would never admit to such a thing. With one last glare, she threw one last barb at him.

"Well, at least I don't hate people just because of their blood lines! I will give people a chance! But I _will_ hate someone for their rotten personality!" She turned on her heel and walked away.

She could swear she heard him whisper "Lame" under his breath, but she chose to ignore it. As she walked away, she realized how hard her heart was beating in her chest. She didn't know if he was still watching her, so she didn't stop until she found a fairly empty compartment. She slammed the door behind her, making the blonde girl inside look up.

Ginny sighed, putting a hand her heart in attempt to calm it. "I'm sorry. I just needed to make a point."

The blonde girl shrugged, putting down her paper. Ginny noticed it was a copy of the Quibbler. "It's quite all right." She said in a soft, whimsical voice. "I don't mind at all."

Ginny sat down. "I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley."

"I'm Luna Lovegood." The blonde girl said. She turned her attention back to her paper.

Ginny debated making small talk with the girl, but decided against it. They had several hours to talk if they decided.

Ginny pulled out her books, thinking she could get a head start on some reading when a ratty, old book fell out of her sack. Confused, she set her textbook down and picked up the old book.

She examined the book and found a name engraved in gold. 'T.M. Riddle'. She frowned slightly and opened it. It was blank. She wondered briefly where it came from, but quickly dismissed the thought. Pulling out a quill, she opened to the first page.

_September 1, 1992_

_Well, I just found this diary in my sack. I'm not sure where it came from, but it's blank, so I'm going to use it. I'm a little curious who this T.M. Riddle is, but considering how beat up this book is, I can't imagine they'll miss it much._

_This is my first year attending Hogwarts and I can't be more excited! I have been waiting for this day for so long. Ever since Bill (that's my oldest brother) went off on his first year. I don't really remember when Bill went to his first year but my mum tells me that I haven't shut up about Hogwarts since the day that he left for the first time._

_I'm really hoping that I'll get into Gryffindor. I would just die if I was put anywhere else. Especially Slytherin. My brother, Ron, constantly tells me that only dark witches and wizards get sorted into Slytherin. What would happen to me if I was put in there? What would my family think? Even worse, what would Harry think?_

_I suppose the whole point of having a diary is to write down all of my secrets. So I won't hold back._

_I have a big crush on the famous Harry Potter. I know I'm such a silly, little girl. He is in Gryffindor too. So if I got into Gryffindor, I would be able to spend more time with him. Do you think he could ever like me back? I don't know why I'm asking you. It's not like you can answer me back. But I so desperately want him to notice me and like me back. It's been so hard the past few weeks having him around the house. I can't act like myself because I'm such a nerd._

_Anyways, I suppose it wouldn't be too horrible if I was put in Ravenclaw. I would be different from my family (maybe they would notice me as other than just a little girl) and I think I'm smart enough for it. I think it would be nice to stand out in my family. It's quite hard to stand out in my family. We all look the same with our bright red hair and freckles. It's especially hard for me to be noticed. You think it would be easy since I'm the only girl in my family, but it's not. The only time that my family notices me is when they're telling me to stop doing something because "I'm just a little girl."_

_While I'm confessing things, I should say that I hate that Malfoy boy. What's his name, Dake? He was such a bloody wanker to me on the train today. I didn't even do anything! He was the one who wasn't watching where he was going and bumped into me. He yelled at me to watch where I was going. He's the one who should watch where he is going! The things he said to me were so rude and hurtful. I just don't understand how someone could be so hurtful. Well, I happen to think that he's a bloody wanker!_

_Listen to me! Mum would have a fit if she heard me talking, er, writing like this! "That kind of language isn't fit for a young lady!" That's my mum for you._

_That's all for now._

_Love,_  
><em>Ginny Weasley<em>

Ginny put her quill down and was about to put the diary away when she noticed something odd. There was writing appearing on the page below her entry! She read the new words as her own disappeared.

**Hello, Ginny Weasley.**

Ginny was shocked. She didn't know what to do. She picked up her quill again.

_Who are you?_

**My name is Tom Riddle.**

_The initials on the diary! Ginny was intrigued._

**May I ask you a question, Ginny Weasley?**

Deciding to figure out what he wanted and how he was doing this, she continued.

_Sure, Tom. What is it?_

**May I ask why you are so against being in Slytherin? I found my time in Slytherin quite pleasant and helpful.**

_I have always been told that they were dark wizards, those in Slytherin. Are you a dark wizard? How are you writing like this?_

**I'm not a dark wizard. I'm the memory of a regular, 16 year old boy. This is an ancient magic I discovered while I was at Hogwarts. Please don't be frightened, Ginny. I'm harmless…really.**

_Oh. Well, I'm not afraid of you. I just have never seen or heard of anything like this before._

**If I can tell you one thing, don't dismiss Slytherin, Ginny. It may end up helping you in the end. Who is this Harry Potter you talk about?**

Ginny sighed happily. She couldn't help the giddy grin that came across her face.

_Harry is just wonderful! He's a year ahead of me at Hogwarts. He's really cute! He had black hair and green eyes. Have you heard of him? He's famous!_

**Famous you say? What's a 12 year old boy famous for?**

_He defeated You-Know-Who when he was just a baby! Do you know who that is?_

**I'm afraid I don't.**

_The darkest wizard of our time. The dark lord Voldemort. Harry killed him when he was just a baby! When You-Know-Who tried to kill Harry, the curse bounced off him and hit You-Know-Who instead! He saved our entire world! All by himself as just a baby!_

**Interesting. He sounds quite powerful.**

_He is! I have to go now, Tom! I need to get changed into my robes. Will you always be here?_

**I will.**

_Well then, goodbye, Tom!_

**Goodbye, Ginny Weasley.**

Ginny smiled happily and put the quill and diary down. She turned to Luna.

"Do you think we should go ahead and change into our robes?" She asked. She didn't want to get changed into them too early and look overeager like her brother, Percy.

Luna looked up at her with wide eyes. "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"Do you mind if I change into my robes in here? I don't want to have to find the loo. I'm sure they're all full anyways."

"I don't mind." She said softly as she shook her head. "I think I will change too."

Ginny closed all the shades in the compartment and pulled her robes out. She was just about finished putting on her school uniform when Luna spoke again.

"You seem different." She stated bluntly. She was looking at her with wide eyes that seemed to frighten Ginny, just a little bit.

Ginny turned to face her. "Excuse me?"

"You seem different from when you came in here. Are you feeling all right?" Luna asked, her head cocked to one side.

"I'm fine." Ginny said slowly. "I don't know what you're talking about. I mean, I was quite upset when I came in and I'm not anymore."

Luna shook her head. "I don't think that's it." She said softly, slipping her robe onto her shoulders.

Ginny shrugged and didn't say anything. This Luna Lovegood character was quite odd, but Ginny decided not to dismiss her so quickly. She had a feeling that Luna might become a very good friend. With a quick smile over to the blonde, she finished slipping on her robes. Oh yes, she could be quite a good friend indeed.

Ginny couldn't contain her excitement over starting her classes the next day. She had a smile on her face the whole day. As the day let out and her final class was released, she practically ran back to Gryffindor Tower. She bounded up the stairs to the first girls' dormitory and threw her school bag onto the bed. She ran to her trunk, picked up the diary and immediately started writing in it.

She had been desperate to write to Tom since last night's Sorting Ceremony. But after the nerve-wracking ride into Hogwarts, the even more nerve-wracking Sorting Ceremony and the long (yet delicious) feast she had been completely wiped out and promptly passed out when she got back to her room.

_September 2, 1992_

_Dear Tom,_

_I have been so anxious to write to you since last night. I'm so excited to report that I have been sorted into Gryffindor. It was such a wild experience! The Sorting Hat told me that I could be in ANY of the four houses! I don't think I've ever heard of that happening to anyone._

_First, he said I had all the traits of all the Weasleys that had come before me and that I would do quite well in Gryffindor. Then he said I was smart, clever, and witty enough to be in Ravenclaw. Then he said that I had the kindness and compassion of someone in Hufflepuff. And last, he said that I had cunning and mischievousness to be placed in Slytherin. He also said that I had a power in me that had done well in Slytherin. I almost died! I thought he was going to put me in Slytherin the way he kept going on!_

_Luckily, like I said, I was put into Gryffindor. I can't imagine a greater tragedy than being put into Hufflepuff. I'd rather have been put into Slytherin! I'd have never lived it down with my brothers._

_I was so sore at Ron for missing the Sorting Ceremony! He and Harry missed the train and ended up driving dad's flying car all the way to school! From LONDON! They aren't expelled, but they are in loads of trouble with mum and dad. They got detention and missed the Sorting Ceremony. I especially wanted Harry to see me get sorted into Gryffindor so that he'd know I was brave and loyal…just like him._

_It was sort of worth it though to see Ron get a Howler from mum this morning over breakfast. The entire Great Hall heard it! His face turned redder than a tomato! I felt bad for poor Harry. He looked so guilty. It's not his fault! He is just so cute! I really wish he'd like me back._

_Classes were so much fun today! I'm really going to love it here!_

_Love,  
><em>_Ginny Weasley_

Ginny put her quill down, but didn't wait to see what Tom would say back. She was absolutely starving and needed to head down to dinner before all of the food was gone. She closed the diary and put it reverently back into her trunk. She had a feeling that this was going to be a fantastic year!

Over the course of the next week, Ginny would find herself feeling a little worn down and tired. She tried to take care of herself and get rest but she was finding her schedule to be quite tiresome. She wasn't sure what exactly was causing her to be so tired, but she tried desperately to brush it off. She wrote to Tom in her diary, which always made her feel better, and tried to keep a positive attitude.

It was about one week into classes that Ginny had her first real scare of the year. She woke up, feeling completely disoriented and completely drained. She forced herself out of bed and into the bathroom to wash up for the day. Looking in the mirror, she was a little shocked by her appearance. She seemed to be so pale and sickly looking. But she didn't feel sick. She just felt tired.

Ginny walked back to her bed and found her robes from the previous day sitting on the floor. Curious about this because she could have sworn she put them away to be washed, she picked them up and was shocked to see feathers clinging to the sleeves of her robes. Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped them right back onto the floor.

Shaking her head, she carefully picked the feathers off of her robe and tucked them under her bed where no one could see them. She had no idea where they could have come from. She decided that she must have picked them up when she went looking around the grounds the other day. It was easy to believe that she had just failed to notice them.

Making her way down to breakfast, she ran into her third oldest brother, Percy, in the Great Hall. He was looking at her curiously.

"Ginny, are you feeling all right?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'm fine, Percy." She said. "I'm just a little tired."

Percy frowned at her, not convinced that she wasn't sick. "Well, you're looking awfully pale. I think it would be a good idea to go visit Madam Pomfrey and get a Pepper Up Potion. It'll help you get through the day."

Ginny sighed and nodded. "Fine, I'll go."

As she sat down to eat her breakfast, she knew that she should be thankful that her brother was looking out for her, but she wanted her independence. She wanted them to know that she could take care of herself.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_I hope that you enjoyed Chapter 2 (Where Draco and Ginny Attend Hogwarts). For those of you who recognized some of the dialogue, yes it's the same as the books, but I tried really hard not to make it direct plagiarism by just copying chunks of the original story. I mean, I couldn't do that, because the original story is about Harry and this story is about Draco and Ginny.

But regardless, if you recognize it, it doesn't belong to me. So please, don't report me. Don't sue me. I don't own anything of value.

Drop me a note, if you don't mind, and let me know what you thought.


	4. Where Ginny is Possessed

_**Part One: Love Looks Not With the Eyes**_

**Chapter Three (Where Ginny is Possessed)**

_*Are of imagination all compact.*_

_Dear Father,_

_I just wanted to inform you that I have arrived at school in one piece. Things here are as dull as ever. I swear that Dumbledore's speeches get longer every year. I don't know what the point is, it's not like anyone listens to that old dirt bag._

_The unfortunate news is there are even more of those dirt poor Weasleys at this school this year. That girl one ran right into me on the train. I don't know why I expected her to have the decency to apologize to me. I'm so glad that I have extra robes, I'm sure I'm going to have to burn these ones. One of these days people like that won't be allowed in proper wizarding society._

_I will write to you soon to keep you informed of how poorly this school is being run. Send Mother my love and let her know I will write her soon._

_Your son,  
><em>_Draco_

Over the next month and a half, many strange things started happening to Ginny Weasley. She desperately tried to be a normal student by attending her classes and completing all of her assignments, but she found herself losing time constantly. She found herself always tired and unable to focus. She had thought she was coming down with something. She went to see Madam Pomfrey, but she could not find anything wrong with her. She handed her a pepper up potion and sent her on her way.

So Ginny went back to her daily routine. She tried to push it out of her mind, telling herself that she would be just fine. She had gone to the Hospital Wing and things were just fine. There was no reason for concern. She spoke of her worries with Tom and he seemed to agree with Madam Pomfrey. If there was nothing wrong after the tests, then there was not cause for concern.

Ginny found comfort and confidence in her friendship with Tom. She loved the fact that she could bring the diary with her to classes and write to him at any point she wanted to. It was like having a friend in all of her classes, someone that she could tell all of her secrets to and not have to worry that someone was going to overhear everything.

She especially loved talking about Harry. She didn't feel comfortable with any of the girls in her year, so being able to talk to Tom about the feelings she had for Harry really helped her to feel so much better. She poured her heart and her soul into the diary, and she took comfort in that.

Ginny did not allow herself to get concerned about her loss of memory until the morning she woke up and found herself with her robes and coat on. She distinctly remembered getting changed into her nightgown the night before, but she woke up in her full uniform. Very confused, and feeling extremely tired. Ginny tried to push the incident from her mind, telling herself that she was just making it all up. She must have just fallen asleep in her robes.

But no matter how hard she tried, she could not push it from her mind completely. She told herself that it was nothing to be worried about, but if it happened again she would go see Madam Pomfrey again. She would talk to her about getting some kind of sleeping potion to help her get a more restful sleep.

Because truth be told, Ginny was having a hard time sleeping. At first she thought it was because she was missing her home. She chalked it up to homesickness and pushed it from her mind. But as time went on and the other girls in her dorm seemed to settle into life at Hogwarts, Ginny couldn't help but feel like an outsider. She was still having trouble adjusting and it was starting to drive her crazy.

Not knowing what else to do, she confided in Tom.

_October 12, 1992  
><em>_Dear Tom,_

_I feel like I'm going completely crazy. I know you said it was nothing to worry about, but I keep losing time and it's starting to scare me. I'm also having a very hard time sleeping. I thought it was just me being a silly little girl and being homesick, but now I'm not so sure. All of the other girls here in the dorm seem to be doing just fine. What's wrong with me?_

_Percy is constantly telling me that I look pale and asks if I've gone to see Madam Pomfrey about this. I did go see her and she couldn't find anything wrong with me! But I'm thinking of seeing her again. I woke up this morning and I was dressed in my full set of robes! I remember putting my nightgown on last night and I do not remember putting my robes back on. I'm not sure what's going on with me. But I am really scared._

_I don't know what to do Tom. I'm really stressed about not being able to focus in my classes or do my homework properly. I try so hard to pay attention in class, but it's not working out so well. I try to do my homework properly, but it always seems to be wrong. I swear to you…my professors are going to start thinking I'm a squib or something horrid like that._

_Plus, I don't know what I'm going to do about Harry. I so desperately want him to notice me, but I don't think he'd notice me if my hair were on fire. (Which it might as well be with how awfully orange it is.) I like him so much, Tom. All he will ever think of me is Ron's little sister. It drives me absolutely bonkers that he doesn't see me at all._

_It's just so hard, you know? Being the youngest and only girl in such a big, well known family. There is so much that is expected of me. I'm supposed to be pure, and good, and perfect. How am I supposed to live up to that? How?_

_Love,  
><em>_Ginny Weasley_

Ginny didn't wait to see what Tom's response would be. She would just read it later. Seeing as how she was in the middle of History of Magic, she knew that no one would notice if she was intently reading a book that was not her textbook. But at the same time, she didn't feel like listening to Tom lecture her about Harry Potter or doing well in her classes. Ginny tried to turn her attention back to Professor Binns, the only ghost professor in Hogwarts, and memorize some dates. They did have an exam coming up after all.

It was about two and a half weeks later that Ginny really started to understand the meaning of the word fear. It was Halloween, and she had been looking forward to the Halloween feast all week. She had heard that the house elves who worked in the kitchens went all out for the Halloween feast, the Christmas feast (although few students ever attended), and the final feast of the term.

Ginny remembered going down to the Great Hall for the feast. She remembered sitting next to a girl from her year that she was friendly with. She remembered filling her plate with the delicious smelling food. What she didn't remember was what happened next.

The next thing that she remembered was waking up the next morning. Confused, she sat up and found that she was in her robes again. Looking down at her robes, she found that they were covered in red paint. Starting to get nervous, she slipped into the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes and tried to calm down as she washed up. She rinsed her face, brushed her teeth and changed her clothes. But the whole time she was unable to stop herself from trembling.

Feeling completely starved, she made her way down to the Great Hall again in hopes of getting some breakfast. What she heard next, would make her lose her appetite.

The students were all whispering with fear about the events of the night before. They were whispering about Filch and Mrs. Norris. Mrs. Norris was Filch's cat. Ginny listened intently to the other students in an attempt to find out what happened. She didn't want to seem strange or suspicious by not knowing what had happened, so she kept quiet.

What she was able to find out was that a message had been left on the wall of the second floor corridor. It appeared at first to have been written in blood, but that rumor was soon dispelled and verified to have been red paint. When Ginny heard that, she paled considerably. She had had red paint all over her robes this morning and she couldn't remember a thing from last night.

Ginny forced herself to eat a piece of toast before she couldn't take it any longer. She got up from the table, saying a few half-hearted goodbyes and then made her way to the second floor corridor so that she could see this message for herself.

**THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.**

**ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.**

Ginny felt like she was going to be sick. She ran as fast as she could to the closest girls' bathroom. She locked herself in the stall and took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. Ginny was completely beside herself. She did the only thing that she could. She went back to her room and wrote to Tom.

After she had finished pouring her thoughts, fears, and heart into a new diary entry, Ginny was feeling incredibly tired. She desperately wanted to take a nap, but she knew that if she tried to sleep, she would just lay in her bed for hours staring at the ceiling. There was just too much on her mind.

Sighing to herself and going back down to the common room, Ginny tried to find away to make herself feel better. There had to be something she could do to feel better.

Things spiraled out of control even more from that point on. The students of Hogwarts couldn't seem to stop talking about the Chamber of Secrets and the legendary monster attached to it. Ginny wanted to join in with her classmates, to feel like she fit in, but every time the subject came up, she just felt sick to her stomach. She could feel her insides start to twist up in fear and anxiousness.

Ron had tried to make her feel better with some jokes about how Mrs. Norris was just a menace and that this was a good thing, and that maybe even Filch would get petrified. That just made Ginny feel worse. How could she stop it from happening if she had no idea why it happened in the first place?

Then what Ginny feared more than anything else happened. A week after Mrs. Norris was petrified Colin Creevey, a boy from her house and her year, was petrified by the monster that was wandering the halls of Hogwarts. Ginny didn't sleep for a week after Colin's attack. Just like on Halloween night, she had no memories of the night that Colin was attacked. She was absolutely terrified that she might be the one who was behind the attacks. The worst part was, she had no one that she could talk to about it at all.

She was absolutely terrified that she would be expelled, or worse, thrown in Azkaban if she told anyone of her suspicions. So she kept them to herself. The only the problem was that it was starting to eat her alive. More than anything, she wished that she had an idea as to what was causing this. She had no idea what was going on at Hogwarts, she was just starting to believe that she was the one behind it. She wished she could stop it, but without any idea why it was happening, she had no idea how to stop it.

When the attacks seemed to stop as suddenly as they started, Ginny started to relax a little bit. Maybe it wasn't her fault after all! Maybe whatever it was that was causing her to lose parts of her memory had been just a small illness that had now passed. With the winter holidays coming up, Ginny had a lot to look forward to, like staying at school for the break.

It would be a little over a month after Colin's attack that the next attack would occur. This time was far more frightening than the first two combined.

That morning, Ginny woke up with feathers all over her robes again. Starting to feel like she was absolutely insane, she confided in Tom again. He seemed to brush her off a little bit, telling her that there was absolutely nothing to worry about. Ginny tried her hardest to believe him, but couldn't seem to shake the feeling that she was still the one who was behind these strange events at Hogwarts.

Later that night, Ginny found herself in her dormitory. Confused as to why she was there and not in her classes, she decided to head down to the common room to see who was there.

She bounded down the stairs and found that the common room was all but abandoned. Frowning to herself, she decided to head down the Great Hall. Passing the clock on her way out, she realized that it was well after dinner time. It was no wonder why the dormitory and common room were empty.

She tried to be happy as she went down to the Great Hall, but as soon as she opened the door, she knew that wasn't going to happen.

She quickly found a seat next to some students from her year and she sat down next to them. They were whispering amongst themselves about something that had happened the night before. Hating to feel out of the loop, Ginny listened quietly to what they were saying.

"I'm not sure where he was found, but they say they found him next to Nearly Headless Nick!" One boy said in a hushed voice.

Ginny paled. She really hoped they weren't talking about another attack.

"So they found this kid Justin and he was completely petrified?" Another girl whispered. Ginny could tell she was scared.

Ginny was scared to death. She couldn't remember what she did the night before and now another student had been attacked. She was really starting to believe that she was the one who was behind all of this. That scared her. Not knowing what had been happening to her made her feel like she was going insane.

Suddenly not hungry anymore, she got up from the table and decided that she wanted to go back to her dormitory and lay down. She wasn't feeling well at all. She felt completely tired and worn down and now she had to add fear on top of that as well.

Ginny went back to her dormitory and immediately went back to her bed. She needed to lay down. She just needed sleep.

Ginny stayed at Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays, but she refrained from writing in the diary. She didn't know how he was doing it, but she was starting to believe with all of her heart that Tom was the one who was behind the black outs and the attacks on the students. Therefore making her the one behind all the attacks. She was scared to write to him, but didn't know what else to do since she didn't have any other friends.

It was in late January that Ginny finally got fed up with the diary and the blackouts. Scared that someone would actually be killed, she decided that she had to destroy the diary. She spent a couple of days thinking about how the best way to dispose of the diary would be. She wished she knew how to just blow something up, but she hadn't figured out just how to do that yet with all of this extra magic she had running through her body. It took about two days, but she finally figured out what she had to do.

The following day, Ginny made her way down to the second floor lavatory. She wanted to take the diary back to the first place where she had found herself in trouble. By those stupid sinks in the girls lavatory on the second floor. Barely able to control herself, she started crying. She stood in the middle of the stalls and threw the book as hard as she could. She prayed that it would go away forever. So distraught at everything that had happened during the year, she didn't wait around to see what happened to it.

Ginny ran as fast as she could back to her dorm room. She wanted to get some rest. She wanted sleep, long and deep sleep. And that night, she finally got it. She slept long, hard, and without any dreams or nightmares to plague her. She woke up the next morning feeling more relaxed and rested than she had all year. She nearly cried from happiness at the experience. For the first time since September, she was finally starting to feel like herself.

But it was not to last.

The first wretched thing to happen was that her feelings for Harry seemed to intensify as she started feeling more like herself. She embraced the feelings because it was the first real human thing she had felt since she had started writing in that stupid diary. So when Valentine's Day came around, Ginny decided she was going to write and send Harry a valentine.

She spent a good half a day creating an original poem and card for her crush. She debated long and hard with herself, but finally decided to keep it anonymous so that no one would be embarrassed, especially herself.

When February 14th finally came around, Ginny practically skipped down to the Great Hall where she was met with a pleasant surprise. There were pink flowers all over the place and heart shaped confetti falling from the ceiling. Ginny grinned and went to sit down with some of the girls from her year. She looked up at saw Professor Lockhart in some bright pink robes and she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips.

Ginny saw Harry come in the Great Hall out of the corner of her eye and she smiled to herself. Harry went to sit with Ron and Hermione and she turned back to her breakfast, only to be interrupted by Professor Lockhart.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" He shouted from his seat. "And may I thank forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all – and it doesn't end here!"

Ginny watched in amazement as Lockhart clapped his hands, ushering in a dozen little dwarfs wearing golden wings and carrying harps.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" Lockhart said with a grin on his face. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

Ginny felt bad for the other professors who were being thrust into Lockhart's spotlight. Flitwick looked like he was going to die of embarrassment as he buried his face in his hands. Snape looked ready to kill anyone who approached him.

Ginny watched in fascination as the "cupids" wandered around the great hall delivering the valentines they already had. Ginny pulled out her valentine, ready to hand it off to the next cupid who came by. That's when she had the brilliant idea of making it a singing valentine instead of just a plain paper one.

Ginny spent her morning trying to figure out how to turn her beautiful valentine into something even more special. Once she figured it out, she quickly handed it over to one of the dozen cupids who had been barging into the classes all day long. She was told that he would get it later in the afternoon.

It was later in the afternoon when Ginny was walking to her last class when the valentine was delivered to Harry by one of the cupids. She stopped, as all the students did, and watched as Harry tried desperately to get away. She felt horrified when she saw how embarrassed he was.

"I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person." He said, plucking at his harp.

Harry tried to escape, but the dwarf grabbed him by his bag and pulled him back. She couldn't make out what Harry was saying, but he tried to get away again and that's when his bag ripped.

Suddenly, Ginny felt a cold feeling come over her and she realized a new presence had approached the group. She knew who it was before she even heard his cold voice.

"What's going on here?" Draco Malfoy asked the group in his own haughty way. Ginny saw Harry desperately trying to gather his things, but all she could feel was the hatred and rage that Malfoy of all people had to ruin this moment.

"What's all the commotion?" Came another familiar voice. It was Percy. Ginny thought she was going to die. Especially when the dwarf grabbed Harry and sat down on his ankles, forcing him to stay.

"Right." He said. "Here's your singing valentine:

"_His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,  
><em>_His hair is as dark as a blackboard.  
><em>_I wish he was mine, he's really divine,  
><em>_The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."_

The crowd laughed and Harry tried to laugh with them and Ginny wished she could just disappear. Percy got to breaking everyone up.

"Off you go, off you go, the bell rang five minutes ago, off to class, now." He said, shooing students away. "_And_ you, Malfoy-"

Ginny couldn't move as her eye caught sight of something all too familiar. It was Tom's diary. Malfoy was picking it up off the floor. She couldn't hear their conversation, she couldn't hear anything but her heart pounding in her ears. What if Tom got mad and told Harry everything she had written about? She would just die of embarrassment.

Ginny watched helplessly, mortified and full of rage as Harry took the diary back by force. Percy got all upset, claiming he had to report the use of magic in the halls. Ginny somehow found it in herself to start moving. Anger, rage and humiliation coursed through her veins as she passed by Malfoy.

"I don't think Potter liked your valentine much!" He yelled after her, his voice full of spite and hate. Ginny's heart pounded so hard in her chest from all of the emotion that she thought she was going to explode. It was then she swore she heard Malfoy whisper. "Pathetic Weasley. You'll never amount to anything."

Ginny couldn't help herself when she heard that. She covered her face with her hands and ran into her classroom, which, thankfully, was right next door. She went to her seat and tried to sink as low as she could in it, hoping no one would notice her or talk to her. She wanted to be invisible more than anything else right now. She had to get the diary back. She just had to.

The last thing that she remembered was leaving her class for the day. She was on her way back to her dorm, but then she lost all sense of time, place and herself. When she came to again, she was standing in her dorm room with Tom's diary in her hands.

She cried out in frustration at the sight of the ratty old book. She went to the end of her bed and opened her trunk. She dug down to the bottom of the trunk and put the diary in there. She threw a bunch of things on top of it and then locked the trunk shut. She wasn't going to write in it again. She might not be able to get rid of the stupid thing, but that didn't mean that she had to write in it ever again.

Over the next three months, Ginny felt herself fading again. The sense of herself that she had gotten when she didn't have the diary was starting to wane again. She got more tired with each passing day. She could feel even her magic starting to drain from her body. She got sick often and found it harder and harder to bounce back from each illness. She had visited Madam Pomfrey several times, but she couldn't find anything wrong with Ginny other than a little stress.

So Ginny did what she had to do. She went through the motions of her every day routine. She found no pleasure in anything anymore, but she didn't care. She supposed it was her fault for writing in something when she didn't know where it had come from. She didn't care about Quidditch, classes, making friends, or anything involving other people. She was only comfortable when she was alone in her room. She was only comfortably when she was away from everything human.

It was the beginning of May, and the final Quidditch game of the year was going to start in about an hour. Ginny had woken up that morning with all intentions of making herself go to the game, she was going to force herself to be around people. As she was getting ready, she had another one of her black outs. Once again, she woke up to find herself in the girls' bathroom in the lavatory on the second floor. Ginny sat up and looked around. She was sure the game was half over at this point, so she decided to go back to her dormitory. Ginny got up, brushed herself off and start walking dejectedly back towards the common room.

She approached the common room to find a majority of the Gryffindor students crowding around the entry, trying to get in. Confused, she got as close as she could. Why weren't they all at the game? She didn't ask this question out loud, but rather listened to the gossiping students to find out what was wrong.

"Do you know what's going on?" One girl asked.

Another girl shrugged while a boy close by spoke out. "I don't know for certain, but I think another student was attacked!"

Gasps swept the crowd and they all started pushing towards the entry in a panicked manner. Ginny just sighed and hunched her shoulders. She was so upset that this was happening again. She wished she knew how to make it all stop.

As the students all gathered in the common room and continued their gossip, Professor McGonagall came in to talk to them.

"All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities." McGonagall said as she rolled up the parchment in her hand.

She paused before continuing. "I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward."

Ginny felt like she was going to be violently ill. Half of her wanted to stride forward and claim responsibility for all of it. The other half was screaming at her to keep her mouth shut. She decided to stick with the latter.

Ginny didn't stick around to listen to what was said amongst the students. She felt more guilty than she had about any of the other students' attacks. Hermione was her friend! How could this have happened? What if she had died? Could she still die? As Ginny sank down into her bed, she allowed herself to start crying. Something had to be done. She just wished she knew what it was.

It would be a couple more weeks before Ginny finally got the nerve up to try and talk to someone. She decided that Harry and Ron would be able to tell her what to do, so she decided she was going to try and talk to them before going to a teacher.

She walked into the Great Hall just as McGonagall was finishing up announcing that Mandrake roots were ready to be stewed up for potions. Ginny ignored her and went to sit down by Ron and Harry. She was so tense and nervous, that it took everything she had in her to grab some porridge.

"What's up?" Ron asked. But Ginny couldn't say anything. She just stared at the table, her body beginning to tremble. She could feel herself starting to rock back and forth. "Spit it out!" Ron said exasperated.

"I've got to tell you something." She mumbled, not looking at Harry.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

Ginny seemed to have lost the ability to speak. She wanted to tell them so badly, but she couldn't get the words out.

"_What?_" Ron asked.

Ginny opened her mouth but there were still no words. Harry then leaned forward so that no one but him, Ron and Ginny could hear him whisper.

"Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets? Have you seen something? Someone acting oddly?" He asked urgently.

Ginny took a deep breath and was about to spill her secret when Percy walked up. He looked exhausted.

"If you've finished eating, I'll take that seat, Ginny. I'm starving, I've only just come off patrol duty."

Completely startled that she had been addressed by Percy, Ginny jumped out of her seat and practically ran out of the Great Hall. Ginny tried to hold the tears back so that she wouldn't be blinded as she ran back to her room, but she couldn't hold them for long. She didn't stop running until she had gotten to her bed. She crawled up on her bed, clutching her knees to her chest, and just cried.

She was sitting on her bed for a good fifteen minutes when she heard it. A voice colder than Malfoy's whispered in her ear.

"That's right, Ginny Weasley." The voice hissed. "Cry. You've been a bad, bad girl and now you must be punished."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_ This is probably my favorite ending to a chapter so far. I hope you guys liked it too!

Thanks to those who sent reviews, I really appreciate it. Of course there is some familiar dialogue, but I try not to make it direct plagiarism by copying huge chunks of the book. Once again, I just wanted to use the dialogue but make it from Draco/Ginny's point of view. But it's not mine, please don't sue. I have nothing of value.

Shoot me a note and let me know what you thought! :)


	5. Where Ginny is in the Chamber

_**Part One: Love Looks Not With the Eyes**_

**Chapter Four (Where Ginny is in the Chamber)  
><strong>_*The forms of things unknown.*_

_May 29, 1993  
><em>_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Ginny felt a cold chill run up her spine at the sound of the voice she heard whispering in her ear. She looked around but could see no one in the room. She tried to squeeze her eyes tight and hold her knees closer, but she couldn't get the cold feeling to go away.

"Try as hard as you want, Ginny." The voice said again. "You're not going to make me go away."

It was then that Ginny felt the strangest feeling she had ever experienced in her young life. It felt as if someone had attached little strings to her arms and legs like a puppet and then made her start moving. She could see what was happening, she was very aware of where she was, but she could barely hear her own thoughts. They seemed to be fading from her mind as the voice she heard grew louder in her head.

"Ginny, you're going to go down to the girl's bathroom on the second floor and get the red paint." The voice said.

Ginny couldn't stop herself from obeying the voice. She wanted to sit there and ignore it, but she couldn't. The little strings attached to her arms and legs were powerful, making her do what the voice wanted.

Ginny watched in horror as she got up from her bed and slowly made her way out of the dorm room. She tried as hard as she could to stop the movements, but she couldn't. She just wasn't strong enough. She wanted to throw up from the feeling of dread that was coming over her body.

It wasn't long before she reached the bathroom. She wanted to cry, sob, scream and run away but she could do none of those things. She walked to a dark corner of the bathroom and pulled out a can of red paint. She then walked back to the hallway where the original message had been painted.

She dipped her fingers in the paint and began to write.

**HER SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER**

Ginny thought she was literally going to choke on the sobs that she couldn't let escape from her throat. She was more terrified than she could ever remember being. She knew that the message was about her. She was going to die before anyone could find her.

Ginny felt herself being forced to turn and walk towards the bathroom again. Her movements felt slow and forced. She felt like she was trying to walk through water. She wanted to resist more than anything, but knew it would be fruitless. Giving up on trying to go back to her room, she allowed herself to be led towards the sinks in the bathroom. She wondered if there was any way she could make it out of this alive. She hoped if she did what she was told, that she would be spared.

She stood in front of one of the sinks and just waited for something else to happen. It was just a minute she had to wait before strange sounds were coming out of her mouth. She watched in amazement and horror when the sink started to move. A dark tunnel like opening appeared in front of her and before she could question it, she was jumping down the tunnel in the pitch black.

She wandered through the dark tunnel for a good ten minutes in slow motion. She came to a massive stone doorway where she heard those strange sounds again. The fact that these sounds were coming out of her mouth made her hair stand on end. The door opened and she walked again towards an opening in the chamber. She stood in the middle of the opening and felt herself pull the diary out of her robes and throw it on the ground.

The diary flew open to the middle where a faint glow started. The glow grew stronger and bigger and within a few seconds a figure appeared in the glow. It was a young boy coming out of the diary. She didn't know how she knew it, but she knew it was Riddle.

That was the last thing she remembered.

Ginny felt her body stirring. She felt cold and stiff on the solid stone floor. She moaned as she stirred, still afraid to open her eyes. It was then that she realized she was controlling her body and not the invisible strings. She opened her eyes and sat up noticing that Harry was running towards her. She tried to grin at him, but when she noticed the basilisk, Harry's bloody robes, and the diary she started to cry. The memory of all that had happened, of all that she had done weighed on her like a ton of bricks.

"Harry – oh, Harry – I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-_couldn't_ say it in front of Percy – it was _me_, Harry – but I – I s-swear I d-didn't mean to – R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over – and – _how_ did you kill that – that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I remember is him coming out of the diary – "

"It's all right." Harry said. He showed her the diary with a big hole in it. "Riddle's finished. Look! Him _and_ the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here – "

"I'm going to get expelled!" Ginny cried out as Harry helped her up. "I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and – _w-what'll Mum and Dad say_?"

Ginny just cried and cried as Harry led her out of the Chamber. She barely paid attention as they wandered the halls heading back to the bathroom. It wasn't long before they heard voices coming from somewhere in front of them.

"Ron!" Harry yelled out. "Ginny's okay! I've got her!"

Ginny followed Harry at a slower speed. He was running towards Ron's voice.

"_Ginny!_" Ron cried out, poking his arm through the gap he had made in the rocks that had fallen. He grabbed for her hand and helped pull her through the hole he had made. "You're alive! I don't believe it! What happened? How – what – where did that bird come from?"

Ginny didn't pay them any attention as Harry talked to Ron. She wanted to get out of this place. She wanted to go home and curl up in her bed and cry. She was certain that she was going to be expelled now that everyone would find out what happened and that she had been behind it all.

Ginny was lost in her own head (so happy to finally be able to hear her own thoughts clearly for the first time in months) and didn't pay her brother or Harry or Lockhart any attention as Harry figured out how to get them out of there. She barely heard them tell her to grab Ron's hand.

When Fawkes took off, Ginny squeezed her eyes tight, a little nervous to be leaving her life in the claws of a phoenix. She had had enough life-threatening experiences today. She didn't need any more. Luckily, the flight only lasted a few minutes and the three students and the professor were standing in the girls' bathroom.

Ginny looked up and saw the girl ghost floating there, talking to Harry. He replied with some unenthusiastic remark.

"Urgh!" Ron said as they walked out of the bathroom towards the Headmaster's office. "Harry! I think Myrtle's grown _fond_ of you! You've got competition, Ginny!"

Ginny didn't say anything, she just continued to cry. Tears were pouring out of her eyes like they were water faucets. She couldn't seem to stop crying, but right now she didn't care. She was completely overwhelmed with what was happening. She was sure that she was going to get kicked out of school.

It wasn't long at all before they reached Professor McGonagall's office. She watched as Harry knocked on the door and then just pushed it open. There was silence on the other side.

Then a scream.

"_Ginny!_" Her mother's voice rang out through the office. She was crying quite hysterically as she leapt to her feet and ran towards Ginny, followed by her father. They both wrapped their arms around her in a tight hug.

Ginny couldn't see anything else going on in the office, she just relaxed into her parents' grasps. They turned away from her for a moment to embrace Ron and Harry as well. That is when Ginny noticed that Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore were there.

"You saved her! You saved her! _How_ did you do it?" Her mother asked.

"I think we'd all like to know that." Professor McGonagall said quietly.

Ginny just stood by as Harry placed the Sorting Hat, the sword, and the diary on the desk. She remained as still and quiet as stone as Harry started to tell them what happened. He told them about everything he had experienced during the year. He spoke of how Hermione helped them figure everything out and how he and Ron ended up in the forest. He went on about the ghost and then he got to the Chamber.

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Very well. So you found out where the entrance was – breaking a hundred school rules into pieces along the way, I might add – but how on _earth_ did you get of there alive, Potter?"

Harry went on some more about what happened while they were down in the Chamber. He mentioned everything except the diary and Ginny's involvement. She was getting nervous. Her stomach was twisting into knots and she was certain she was going to be sick.

"What interests _me_ most." Dumbledore started. "Is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania."

Ginny's heart dropped.

"W-what's that?" Her father asked, stunned. "_You-Know-Who?_ En-enchant Ginny? But Ginny's not…Ginny hasn't been…has she?"

"It was the diary." Harry said. "Riddle wrote in it when he was sixteen…"

Ginny watched as Dumbledore picked up the diary in a slight amazement.

"Brilliant." He whispered. "Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen." He turned towards her parents.

"Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school…traveled far and wide…sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."

"But Ginny…" Mrs. Weasley started. She looked on the verge of hysterics herself. "What's our Ginny got to do with – with – _him?_"

"His d-diary!" Ginny finally cried out. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to get this off of her chest. "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all year – "

"_Ginny!_" Her father gasped. "Haven't I taught you _anything_? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself _if you can't see where it keeps its brain?_ Why didn't you show the diary to me or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was _clearly_ full of Dark Magic – "

"I d-didn't know!" Ginny continued to sob. "I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it – "

"Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away." Dumbledore interrupted her. His voice was firm and steady. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort." He went over to the door and opened it up for her. "Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up." He said with a small wink.

"You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice – I daresay the basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment."

"So Hermione's okay!" Ron said excitedly.

"There has been no lasting harm done, Ginny." Dumbledore reassured her with a twinkle in his eye. She wished she shared his confidence in the matter.

Ginny nodded slowly and followed her parents out of the office and towards the hospital wing. They were muttering to themselves about what had happened and how close they had come to losing their baby girl. Ginny couldn't seem to stop crying. She was more than relieved that she wasn't going to be punished by Dumbledore. She was just terrified about what was going to happen with her parents. Would they punish her even though the school didn't?

When they reached the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey had just finished handing out the Mandrake juices. She immediately directed Ginny to a bed and turned all of her attention on her. She performed several general tests with her wand, taking notes on Ginny's magical status and such.

She quickly determined that Ginny was in fine physical and magical health. She instructed Ginny to lie down and get some rest. She immediately handed Ginny a vial of a mild sleeping potion.

"She'll be just fine." Madam Pomfrey told the Weasleys. "She just needs some rest. You're more than welcome to stay the night.

Ginny's mother nodded her head and said her thanks to Madam Pomfrey. It was at that point that Ron came in with Professor Lockhart and Madam Pomfrey turned her attentions to him and making sure he was secure until they could make arrangements for him to be moved to St. Mungos.

Ron walked over towards Ginny and their parents. "I just wanted to say goodnight, Ginny. I'm so glad you're ok." He said to her.

Ginny smiled weakly at him and whispered goodnight back to him. She looked over at her mother who was getting comfortable in a chair next to the bed. Her mother smiled warmly at her. "Get some rest, Ginny, dear." She said softly. "Your Dad and I will stay with you through the night."

Ginny nodded her head and leaned back in the pillows on the bed. She didn't even bother trying to fight off the sleep that was coming over her. She was exhausted and she wanted more than anything for this day to just be over with.

_May 30, 1993  
><em>_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

The sun was streaming through the windows of the hospital wing when Ginny first opened her eyes. She blinked groggily and looked around the room. She found her father and mother talking to Madam Pomfrey. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Mum? Dad?" She called out. They looked up from their conversation with Madam Pomfrey and their faces immediately brightened.

"_Ginny!_" Her mother called out. "You're awake!"

Her mother walked quickly towards her and wrapped her arms around Ginny. "Oh, Ginny, I'm so happy that you're awake. Your father has to go to work and he wanted to say goodbye."

Ginny grinned at her father and leaned over to give him a hug. She told him goodbye and he quickly rushed out of the hospital wing muttering something about a commotion in London.

Ginny turned to her mother. "Thanks, Mum, for staying with me last night."

Molly Weasley smiled at her daughter. "Of course, sweetheart." She said. "I do have to be on my way. Madam Pomfrey just told me that Professor Dumbledore wants to speak with you today."

Ginny's face paled. Had he changed his mind about punishing her for what had happened? Was she going to be expelled after all? Suddenly her stomach was made up entirely of butterflies.

"Did he say what it was about?" Ginny asked nervously.

Molly smiled comfortingly at Ginny. "He just wants to talk to you about your ordeal in the Chamber. He just wants to make sure that you're okay and such. Ginny, everything is going to be okay."

Ginny smiled weakly at her mother, not feeling very reassured that she wasn't in trouble. Her mother stayed a few more minutes, telling her a little bit about what was going on at the Burrow. Ginny listened attentively, happy to hear about her home. It made her feel better and she was starting to calm down a little.

Ginny's mother eventually had to get back to the Burrow. "There are chores that won't do themselves!" She said as she hugged her daughter goodbye. She tried to assure Ginny that she wasn't in trouble, that everyone was just worried about her. She left and Ginny made herself comfortable in the bed, she was having a hard time of it though. She felt like someone was watching her. Although she figured that she should get used to it. She figured that a lot of people would be watching her and staring her for awhile.

She started wondering how long she would have to wait for Dumbledore to show up and talk to her. She didn't have to wait long.

It wasn't even fifteen minutes before Dumbledore walked into the hospital wing with a twinkle in his eye and a small grin on his face. He greeted Madam Pomfrey warmly and made his way over to Ginny who was still sitting on the bed.

"Good morning, Ms. Weasley." He said kindly. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Ginny smiled weakly at him and shrugged. "I'm all right, I suppose." She said quietly. She tried to force a bigger smile on her face and a positive tone in her voice, but she felt as if she failed miserably. She paused and took a deep breath. "Headmaster, am I in trouble?"

Dumbledore smiled at her and shook his head. "No, Ms. Weasley, you're not in trouble."

Ginny sighed in relief, instantly feeling much better. She had an overwhelming feeling that he was not lying to her. It was almost as if she could sense his intentions. It was a strange new feeling that she wasn't sure what to do with. "Mum said you wanted to talk to me?"

Dumbledore nodded and pulled up a chair and sat down next to her bed. "Ms. Weasley, I would like to talk to you about your experiences here at Hogwarts this year. I know this must be a terrible ordeal that you've been through. I wanted to ensure that you're doing okay. Witches and wizards who have had such close contact with Lord Voldemort often don't live to tell the tale. I just wanted to talk to you about what this means for your future."

Ginny paled again. The nerves came back a hundred fold with his statement. "W-what?"

"Do not be scared, Ginny." Dumbledore said. "This is not necessarily a bad thing. I just think you should be made aware of a few things."

Ginny nodded silently, allowing him to continue.

"Ms. Weasley, you know what I saw the moment you walked into the Great Hall on your first night here?" He asked, looking at her over the top of his spectacles.

"Another plain, red haired Weasley?" Ginny asked. She wasn't sure why she was letting her insecurities shine through when Dumbledore was sitting right there. In actuality, she hadn't really decided to say that. It just happened.

"No, Ms. Weasley." He said. "I saw a very powerful and gifted witch. I sensed something in you that I haven't sensed in any student that's come through here in quite some time. Do you know why Lord Voldemort chose you to give his diary to?"

Ginny shook her head.

"Ms. Weasley, Lord Voldemort is far from careless. He would not just choose anyone to give his diary to. It's a piece of him, he had to choose wisely."

"So then why me?" Ginny asked. "Why was I given the diary?"

"There's a great deal of power to be found in the seventh child born to a family, and that you were born a female in a family with no females born for generations suggests that you have more to you than meets the eye."

Ginny didn't know what to say. She remained quiet as Dumbledore continued.

"Ms. Weasley, Lord Voldemort had to choose someone who had more than the average amount of power running through their veins. The more powerful the recipient of the diary was, the more powerful he would have become if he had succeeded. Does this make sense, Ms. Weasley?"

Ginny was shocked. She nodded her head slowly, trying to comprehend exactly what Dumbledore had just said to her. But it didn't make sense. She wasn't anyone special. She was just Ginny Weasley.

"You've always had so much potential, Ms. Weasley." Dumbledore said. "And now that your powers have been tapped into in such a way you will be able to feel them more than you could before. I think we'll be seeing great things from you, Ms. Weasley."

"Wow." Ginny whispered. She was having a hard time taking this all in. "What do I do now, Professor?"

Dumbledore smiled at her again, the mischievous twinkle was back in his eye. "That, Ms. Weasley, is entirely up to you. But I would suggest continuing on with your education here at Hogwarts. I would suggest training yourself and your gifts to help make this world a better place."

Feeling more at ease, Ginny smiled back at Dumbledore. "Thank you, Professor. I think that's something I can handle."

"Of course, Ms. Weasley." He said as he stood up. "If you need anything don't be afraid to ask."

Ginny nodded and watched as he walked out the door. She leaned back in her bed and contemplated what Dumbledore had told her. She felt a small smile coming over her face as she thought about what her future held for her.

As she settled under the covers and prepared to fall back asleep she felt a strange sensation come over her. She stiffened slightly as she tried to identify what the feeling was. She felt as if she was being watched, but when she looked around there was no one there. She felt her chest tighten slightly, as if a gap were closing up in her chest.

"I'm sorry." She heard a voice whisper. She whipped her head around, certain that she heard someone. She saw no one and she frowned. Someone must be hiding but she didn't know who or why. "I never knew this would happen." The voice whispered again.

There was something familiar about the voice but Ginny couldn't place her finger on where exactly she had heard it before. She damn near held her breath as she listened closely, wondering if she'd hear it again. After a few moments with complete silence, she laid back down on her pillow. Feeling safe for the first time that year, she fell asleep.

A few beds down, in a dark corner of the hospital wing, a blond haired little boy stood quietly, watching the red head as she adjusted the blankets on her bed. He had snuck into the Hospital Wing earlier that morning for reasons he didn't quite understand. He had heard from the Hogwarts gossip mill the previous night that the girl Weasley had been taken down into the Chamber of Secrets and no one knew how to find her. The message left had indicated that she would be killed.

Draco had been unable to sleep that night. What little sleep he had gotten was plagued with nightmares about monsters coming after him. He had been terrified at the thought that someone even younger than him would be sacrificed. He didn't know that this was the plan all along when the diary was brought into Hogwarts. He refused to explore the reasons he was terrified. Even at his tender age of 12 he knew there were possible conclusions he would come to that he didn't want to face.

Early that morning when he finally gave up on sleep, he went down to the Great Hall and found out that the girl Weasley had been rescued and was recovering in the Hospital Wing. He had been more relieved than he would ever admit to anyone that she was alive. Unable to eat, he needed to make sure for himself that she was still alive and that she was okay.

He watched as Dumbledore came into the Hospital Wing. He stood silently in his corner as he listened to everything the Headmaster told the girl Weasley. He stood there, unsure of what to do next. He knew he shouldn't be listening to their conversation, and he wondered what he should do with the information he had just discovered.

He figured he should probably tell his father what he heard. That's what a good son who was loyal to the purification of society would do, anyways. But he didn't want to. Something told him that he should keep this information to himself. He filed the information away into the furthest corner of his memory.

And so here he was, eavesdropping on a conversation between this revolting girl and the headmaster his father despised. He knew he should report what he'd heard and seen, but he knew that he wouldn't. He knew that he would keep this to himself.

He watched as Dumbledore stood up and left the Hospital Wing. When the Headmaster was gone, Draco turned his attention back towards the girl Weasley. She was trying to get comfortable in her cot when her demeanor suddenly changed. She started looking around the room and Draco receded further into the shadows to avoid being seen.

He took a moment to take in her appearance. She was thin, much thinner than when he had run into her on the train at the beginning of the year. There were bags under her eyes and she was pale. She turned her head again and she was looking straight in his direction. The way she was staring, he wondered for a brief moment if she had seen him. When he realized that she hadn't, he looked into her eyes. He saw the stress and the fatigue that rested there.

_I'm sorry._ He thoughts whispered in his head. He didn't know why he was apologizing to her. He hadn't actually done anything to harm her. But with a heavy heart he finally faced the fact that it was his own father was responsible for her being the Hospital Wing. He didn't know why he felt like he had to apologize for the actions of his father, he was just glad that he wasn't standing in front of her begging for forgiveness.

_I never knew this would happen._ He tried to reassure her and himself that there was nothing he could have done to prevent what had transpired in the past term.

Draco watched as she looked around furiously. He wondered what she had heard that had her so on edge. He hadn't heard anything himself, but then, he had been lost in his own thoughts. She sat perfectly silent and still for a few moments. When she finally seemed satisfied that there was nothing to see or hear, she slipped back under the covers and quickly fell asleep.

Draco stood there for just a few minutes longer. Once again he pondered his reasons for being here. He had no reason to feel guilty or upset and yet he couldn't shake either feeling. He frowned at his own behavior and quickly shut down that train of thought.

Finally satisfied that Ginny Weasley was still alive, Draco slipped quietly out of the hospital wing more confused and frustrated than when he had first entered.

The Daily Prophet  
><em>Volume 111 * Issue 90 * May 31, 1993<br>_Lucius Malfoy removed from Board of Governors

In a shocking new turn of events, Mr. Lucius Malfoy of Wiltshire has been removed from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's Board of Governors. We tried to contact Mr. Malfoy to see what he had to say on the subject. We wanted to see if he could shed some light on why this happened, but he was unavailable for comment when we contacted him this morning.

Albus Dumbledore released a comment yesterday on the matter, but as always we were left with more questions than answers.

"It is true that Mr. Malfoy has been removed from the Board of Governors. It is unfortunate that it has come to this, as Mr. Malfoy has served us well for many years," Dumbledore said. "I think it's best that we remember when it comes to Hogwarts, the best interest of all the students should come before anything else."

We tried to contact some of the other Board members but no one is talking to The Daily Prophet. We're hoping that people will start opening up soon. We feel that the public at large has a right to know what's going on with the school where we send our children each year.

Without any solid proof, we can only speculate about what really happened. There hasn't been any real official word on the final outcome of this year at Hogwarts, but as we all know several students were attacked by an unknown monster. Starting back in October, students at Hogwarts had legitimate concern for their safety. Several students were petrified and it took until just yesterday for them to be put right again.

No official word has been said on who started the attacks but word is that a student was forced into committing such horrible acts in a way much like the Imperius Curse.

If we find out anymore on the situation, we will happily inform our readers. Until then, we must live with speculation.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong> _Sorry for the delay! Once again, there may be some familiar dialogue, so it's not mine! I hope you guys liked this one! The next chapter is a bit of a filler and not a lot of action, but I hope you stick with it! :) Please drop me a note and let me know what you think!


	6. Where Draco is Injured

_**Part One: Love Looks Not With the Eyes**_

**Chapter Five (Where Draco is Injured)**

_*Or in the night, imagining some fear, how easy is a bush supposed a bear!*_

The Daily Prophet  
><em>Volume 111 * Issue 246 * September 3, 1993<br>_Young Malfoy attacked at Hogwarts by rogue beast

**Draco Malfoy Attacked!**

Yesterday afternoon, during his first Care of Magical Creatures class, young Master Draco Malfoy was attacked by a rogue hippogriff. Preliminary reports tell us this beast's name is 'Buckbeak.'

Draco has been kept at Hogwarts for the duration of his recovery. His parents briefly discussed sending him to St. Mungos, but decided against it when it became clear he could recover better while in school. He is currently under the care of one, Madame Pomfrey, in the Hospital Wing. His parents request that any cards of well wishes and gifts be sent directly to the school.

**Fate of the Beast**

Buckbeak, the hippogriff who attacked Draco, in an unprovoked act of aggression, is still on the grounds at Hogwarts. This disturbing fact has not escaped the attention of Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy assured us that he is looking into having the beast and possibly the professor removed from the grounds.

The professor who was "overseeing" this lesson is Mr. Rubeus Hagrid, a former Hogwarts student. This is Hagrid's first year teaching any class. He has been the keeper of the keys and grounds at Hogwarts for many years now. Our reports indicate that Mr. Malfoy is pushing for Hagrid to be held responsible for the damage this beast has caused.

Mr. Malfoy is pushing for a full trial into this matter.

"I will not rest until this matter has been thoroughly investigated," Mr. Malfoy told the Daily Prophet in a statement released earlier this morning. "My son was attacked for no reason and I will not standby and do nothing when something like this could happen again."

We will keep our faithful readers up to date on the progress of this case as it unfolds. I should hope that members of the courts and the Board of Governors will not let this incident go unpunished.

* * *

><p>The Daily Prophet<br>_Volume 111 * Issue 253 * September 10, 1993  
><em>Young Malfoy making a full recovery

I am so happy to report that Draco Malfoy has made a full and complete recovery from his terrible injuries after running into a rogue hippogriff last week. We have reports that Draco returned to his classes yesterday, sporting a brave face despite dealing with what must have been a traumatic accident.

None of the Malfoys were available for comment this morning, but we are assured that Mr. Lucius Malfoy will have a statement to make shortly. We here at the Prophet are delighted to see that Draco is making such a speedy recovery. We look forward to hearing more details about the fate of the deranged beast that attacked him in the first place. We do hope that an unprovoked attack such as this will not go unpunished.

* * *

><p>The Daily Prophet<br>_Volume 111 * Issue 354 * December 20, 1993  
><em>Hearing set to determine fate of beast who attacked Malfoy

The Daily Prophet has just been informed that the hippogriff who attacked Draco Malfoy at the beginning of the current school term will be subjected to a hearing on April 20 of next year. The hearing will determine what punishment, if any, will be extracted against the beast that attacked Master Malfoy in unprovoked act of aggression.

"I am pleased to see that the proper authorities have acted so quickly to get this matter resolved," Lucius Malfoy said in his statement yesterday afternoon. "It concerns me that such dangers exist in a place that is said to be one of the safest places in the world. I hope that the hearing will bring a pleasing outcome and remove the beast from the grounds. We can only hope that those who are responsible for this beast in the first place will also be held accountable for its actions."

We have to agree with Mr. Malfoy's assessment of the situation. It seems that the caretaker of this animal, Mr. Rubeus Hagrid, should have known this beast was unstable and should have kept him more secure. If the professors at the school can't protect our students, then who can?

We hope to see this matter resolved quickly.

* * *

><p>The Daily Prophet<br>_Volume 112 * Issue 44 * February 13, 1994  
><em>Beast who attacked Malfoy sentenced to death

We promised to keep you informed and up to date on any developments concerning the Malfoy case, and we are pleased we can finally report on the case.

The beast that attacked young Draco Malfoy earlier this year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been sentenced to death. This will be taking place sometime later this spring. The date is yet to be determined.

We are pleased with this ruling, seeing as we certainly don't want crazed beasts of any kind running around Hogwarts, threatening our students. Mr. Lucius Malfoy was particularly pleased when he spoke with the Daily Prophet earlier today.

"My family and I are quite impressed with how this matter was handled. We are most pleased with the outcome of the trial," Malfoy said. "The animal will be executed so that it can no longer harm any of the students at Hogwarts."

We certainly echo Mr. Malfoy's sentiments. What we don't understand is why the animal has been on the grounds for the duration of the trial. But we are assured by the Board of Governors and Dumbledore himself that the animal is securely locked up and in no danger of harming anymore of the students.

We tried to talk to the animal's owner, Mr. Rubeus Hagrid. We caught up with him after the sentence was passed down, but he was incapable of giving a comment. All he did was cry over the fate that was handed to him about his "pet".

We also tried to talk to Headmaster Dumbledore after the trial to see his reaction to the sentence.

"It seems to me that when handling such powerful creatures, one should be careful to follow instruction to the letter," Dumbledore said. "These creatures should be left to those who know how to handle them properly. It saddens me that this happened on Hogwarts grounds."

We tried to ask Dumbledore what he meant by his comments, but he did not say anything more on the subject. He just told us he needed to get back to his students.

Once we find out more about the date of the execution, we will be happy to report it to you. I think we can all agree that the safety of our children is the most important thing. We applaud Mr. Malfoy in his proactive response to this horrible tragedy.

* * *

><p>The Daily Prophet<br>_Volume 112 * Issue 245 * September 2, 1994  
><em>Triwizard Tournament returns after more than a century

Readers, I have the most shocking news. After more than a century, the Triwizard Tournament has been reestablished for the students of Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons. Unfortunately, I don't have any further information on the topic.

The only thing that I can tell you is that the tournament was discontinued after too many accidents and deaths resulting from the three epic tasks asked of the competitors.

We have no idea what the tasks will be or who the competitors will be at this point, but we will keep everyone up to date on how this shocking turn of events plays out.

* * *

><p>When Ginny arrived at Hogwarts for her second year, she damn near had an anxiety attack. Her first night in the dormitories found her unable to sleep and barely able to breathe properly. She had sat up in her bed the entire night replaying as much of her first year as she could remember.<p>

The next morning she had gone to Madame Pomfrey for a sleeping draught. The older witch had gladly given it to Ginny, understanding the circumstances that led to her request. That night, Ginny had taken the sleeping draught and was rewarded with a full night's sleep filled with terrifying nightmares of her previous experiences.

The second morning she was at Hogwarts, she had gone back to Madame Pomfrey and asked for a dreamless sleeping draught. Madame Pomfrey had given the young girl a piteous look and handed over the draught. Later that afternoon, when Ginny's classes were over, she had been summoned to Dumbledore's office.

Feeling nervous that she might have already done something wrong, she walked rather quickly to the Headmaster's office. Upon her arrival, she was immediately summoned into the inter office where she found herself seated in the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk with a cup of tea in hand.

"Miss Weasley, there is no need to be nervous. I only wish to inquire about your health." Dumbledore said calmly. That twinkle was still in his eye. "I heard you have been having problems sleeping since your arrival here."

Ginny nodded. "Yes, Headmaster." She said quietly. "I have been having some trouble since I came back."

"Miss Weasley, there is nothing for you to fear so long as you don't live in the memories of what has happened to you." Dumbledore said as he took a sip of his tea.

"I'm afraid that that won't be possible, Headmaster." She said, her head down. "What if the other students ask me questions and don't stop? How do I escape this?"

"Miss Weasley, if you don't want this to be a problem, then don't let it be a problem." He said.

Ginny had tried to press him for an explanation but he would not say anything else. He insisted that she get back to her dormitory and start her studies. Knowing that the conversation as over, Ginny left the office and slowly made her way back to the dormitories.

…_don't let it be a problem…_

With her resolve set, Ginny lifted her head with determination. This was not going to be a problem.

Luckily for Ginny it was not complete general knowledge that she had been possessed by Voldemort during the previous term. Most every student knew that she had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets and naturally they were all curious about her experience down there. But Ginny had prepared herself for the questions she knew would come from her fellow students.

Luckily for her, word spread around Hogwarts quickly that she had very few memories from actually being in the Chamber since she blacked out not long after she got in there. Once she told the story a few times, word got around that she couldn't remember "anything good" and the students generally left her alone.

Ginny was grateful that Hogwarts quickly lost interest in her experience and seemed to pretty much forget it ever happened, for this allowed her to make friends and flourish without the cloud of Voldemort hanging over her head. Ginny quickly became popular amongst her classmates due to her sense of humor, quick wit, and natural intelligence.

About two weeks into the term, it became very apparent that Ginny possessed a greater amount of magic than her fellow students. She remembered what Dumbledore had told her the previous year and she felt a thrill at the evidence that it was true. She finally felt different (in a good way), and special. For the first time in her life she felt that she would finally be able to stand out from her family. She was no longer just "another Weasley".

However, after the initial euphoria of the discovery disappeared, Ginny started having trouble in her classes. She found that when she was attempting spells, they were coming out much stronger than any of her classmates. This might have sounded like a good thing to anyone else, but Ginny quickly realized that her spells were starting to cause damage and harm rather than their intended purpose.

Ginny attempted to get things under control for a couple of weeks, but when she found it impossible, she had requested a meeting with Dumbledore. She wanted advice and guidance on how to handle her gifts. Ginny was become fearful of her abilities and wanted to appear "normal" in front of her fellow students until she could figure out exactly what she was supposed to do with her gifts.

Dumbledore had graciously opened the door to her and allowed her to ask questions of him.

"Professor, my magic is too strong. I'm unable to perform the spells and charms I'm supposed to because they come out too strong and end up causing more destruction than good." She had said with desperation in her voice.

"Miss Weasley, I can understand your concern." Dumbledore had said with a pleasant smile on his face. "But I can assure you that a few tricks will help you fix this problem."

"Please, sir, I'll do anything to get this under control." Ginny had pleaded. "I'm afraid I'm going to hurt someone!"

"When we cast our spells, we must focus on the spell or charm we're casting so that we can force the magic out of our bodies and into a physical action. People who have more magic in them than most will require less concentration and focus because their magic is more readily available. Does that make sense, Miss Weasley?" He asked her softly.

Ginny nodded. "So when the professors tell me how hard to concentrate, I need to put less effort and focus into my spell than what they tell me. This will make my spells look normal and less powerful?" She asked for clarification.

"Indeed, Miss Weasley." Dumbledore said. "Magic is a wild and erratic thing that flows through our bodies and in our blood on a daily basis. There are certain magical levels that are considered normal. Of course for every rule there is the exception, am I right, Miss Weasley?"

Ginny giggled and nodded. "Of course, Professor." She replied.

"It might also be pertinent to know that our magic is connected to our emotions." He said softly. "That's why when children become upset their magic starts coming out of them in uncontrolled bursts. They don't know how to control it, and the emotions they have feed it, making it come out in whatever form it can."

"I suppose that makes sense, Professor." Ginny said. She sat there, deep in thought for a moment. "But Professor, if one just needs to focus or have strong emotions, then why do we need wands?"

"Magic is harder to control than just that. Those are just the simplest terms that I can explain it. Yes, it takes focus and concentration and will power to make magic work for you, but that can be a very difficult thing to do. A wand is used to help with the focus and concentration." He paused to consider something. "I would imagine that if you tried spells without your wand and the same level of focus you've been using, your spells would probably come out 'normal' looking."

Ginny looked shocked. "You think that I'm capable of wandless magic!" She exclaimed.

Dumbledore chuckled softly. "I think it will come much easier to you than it will for most."

Ginny had to let that sink in for a moment. "But how am I to continue my education if I am to try and keep all of these things in mind? People have a hard enough time with the material their given. I feel like I have to go through advanced courses or something just to be on the same level with everyone else, to understand and use my abilities."

Dumbledore nodded. He seemed to be considering something. "I believe you're right, Miss Weasley. So what do you say to a weekly appointment with me? I can help you take the material you learn in class and apply it so that it suits your abilities. Does that sound agreeable to you?"

Ginny had agreed immediately. She felt honored that she would be allowed such special appointments with the Headmaster. She knew that their time in the coming years would be invaluable and she was looking forward to it.

Her second year proved to be a much happier and successful year. When the term ended and she had to go home for the summer, she found that she was sorely disappointed at the fact. She loved being at Hogwarts and the idea of going home for several months left a dull ache in her chest and feeling of longing.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's<strong>** Note:**_Yeah, so sorry about the ridiculous time lapse in updating. I swear I haven't given up on this. I am part of a writing support group and we had a challenge to write 20K in February and I used that time to work on a non-fanfiction piece. I am actually hoping to get back into this story in the next couple of weeks. There are one or two more chapters before I'm out of material and really need to start writing again, lol. That's what happens when you write out of order, lol.

I know this chapter was a bit different. It's more of a filler to show the lapse of time and the next chapter will have some D/G action! Woo hoo! If you liked it, let me know!


	7. Where Draco & Ginny Attend the Yule Ball

**Part One: Chapter Six (Where Draco and Ginny Attend the Yule Ball)**

_*What visions have I seen.*_

You are cordially invited to  
>The Hogwarts Schoola<br>Of  
>Witchcraft and Wizardry's<br>_**Yule Ball  
><strong>_To be held on  
>December 25, 1994<p>

All fourth year students and above are invited to attend. Younger students may attend only if they are invited by an older student. The dress code for this event is formal evening wear.

_November 25, 1994  
><em>_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Ginny sat straight up in her bed, her entire body was covered in sweat. Her breathing was labored as she struggled to regain her grasp on reality. She took several deep breaths in and out in an attempt to both calm herself and to wake herself up. She placed a hand on her chest in a subconscious attempt to calm her pounding heart.

This was the third night this week that she had been woken up in the dead of the night because of a nightmare. The problem was, she couldn't remember anything about these nightmares. All she knew was that she was being chased by nameless and faceless monster.

As Ginny's breathing came under control, she reached her arm out and fumbled around trying to find the candle she kept by her bed. Once her fingers wrapped around the metal handle, she brought it close to her face. She blew gently on the wick of the candle and watched as it jumped to life with a bright orange flame.

The warmth of the candle and its gentle glow seemed to help calm her nerves. She moved the candle around to check her surroundings. All she saw were the curtains that hung around her bed. All she heard was the gentle breathing of her housemates. She turned to look at the clock beside her bed. 4:06 a.m.

Ginny sighed. She pushed the covers off her legs and reached for her robe. She might as well head down to the common room and get a head start on some of her homework.

There was no getting back to sleep at this point.

Draco's eyes popped open to perfect, inky blackness. His head was pounding. Again. He had been getting headaches almost every night since the year started. He pressed his fingers to his temple in an attempt massage it away. He rolled his eyes at the inconvenience.

He turned on his side and through the darkness he found the candle he kept beside the bed. He focused his eyes on the wick of the candle and it flickered to light. He then turned his attention to the clock sitting on his bedside table. 4:07 a.m.

Draco cursed under his breath.

He was getting tired of being woken up in the middle of the night by headaches. He made up his mind that he was going to see Madame Pomfrey later today to get something for these headaches. He couldn't continue to lose sleep. It was distracting his focus from his studies. Not to mention he felt the need to be especially on guard since there were strangers in the school this year.

Determined that this would be the last night he would wake up like this, Draco blew out the candle and turned to his other side. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed sleep to come.

* * *

><p>It was the last week of November during Ginny's third year and Dumbledore had let her in on a little secret. Ginny had come in late that Friday afternoon for their weekly appointment and made herself comfortable in the chair in front of his desk while she waited for him to be ready.<p>

"Ah, Miss Weasley!" Dumbledore had greeted her when he came in from the side door. "How are you this afternoon?" He turned back to her from the bookshelf where he had been standing. He had a pleasant smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, as usual.

Ginny's face brightened. "I'm doing quite well, Headmaster." She said lightly. "How are you?"

"I'm rather happy and excited this afternoon, Miss Weasley." Dumbledore said happily. "I received some excellent news that helped me to finalize a splendid surprise for the school."

Ginny looked at him curiously. "What is it?" She asked. She rarely saw him quite this excited and she felt that his enthusiasm was contagious.

"As long as you don't tell anyone just yet, Miss Weasley." He said. "Hogwarts is going to host a Yule Ball this Christmas!"

Ginny's eyes brightened. "Really, Headmaster?" She asked excitedly. "That's wonderful news!" She felt that she had earned a special place in Dumbledore's life as one of his students. She was privy to information that other students didn't get to hear and she felt that Dumbledore had respect for her. The thought made her smile.

"I'm afraid that the invitations will only be extended to fourth years and above." Dumbledore said, a hint of sadness lacing his voice. "But if a third year was to be invited by an older student and attend, there would be no objections to that."

Ginny smiled at the twinkle in his eyes. "I am sure that it is going to be a splendid evening, Headmaster." She said with a mischievous smile on her face. "It would be awfully nice to secure an invitation."

Ginny had left the appointment in very high spirits. She was practically skipping as she made her way back to her dormitories. This was going to be a very difficult secret to keep indeed.

The ball was officially announced to the student body about two weeks later, on December 10. Ginny was ecstatic that it was finally common knowledge and she could discuss the dance with her friends. All the older girls could talk about was dresses and dates. Each hoping that someone would ask them to the ball so they wouldn't have to go alone.

Ginny had been quiet about the matter, choosing to sit patiently by and see if any of the older boys asked her to the dance. A very small part of her hoped against hope that Harry would finally notice her and ask her to the ball, but she was not holding her breath. She knew that she was barely on his radar and so she had resigned herself to the idea that if she did go, it would be with someone else.

She tried not to get her hopes up too high that she would be asked, but she was quietly looking at dresses and preparing herself in the event that she was asked. Luckily for Ginny, she was not to be disappointed.

Five days after the ball was announced, Ginny was walking out of the Great Hall and down towards Transfiguration when she was approached by Neville Longbottom.

"Hey, er, Ginny?" Neville had spoken quietly and shyly. "May I speak with you?"

Ginny smiled at him and nodded, slowing down so that he could walk beside her. "Sure, Neville. Walk me to class?" She asked cheerfully as she continued down the hall.

Neville fell in line, but remained very tense. Ginny, who was very good at reading people and was pretty sure she could sometimes read thoughts, tried remain open enough to see if she couldn't figure out what was on his mind.

He paused in his walking, causing Ginny to stop too. She looked at him curiously, desperately trying to read him and not getting much but a confused scattering of emotions and thoughts that didn't seem to make any sense. There was an awkward silence and pause before Neville spoke again.

"Ginny, er, do you have a date to the ball?" Neville asked very quickly.

Ginny was pleasantly shocked to hear the question fall from his lips. She smiled at him. "No, Neville, I do not have a date for the ball." She said sweetly.

Neville gave her a nervous smile. "Well, you see, I was planning on going, but I'd really rather not go alone if I can avoid it, you see." He said. Ginny felt a tingle run up her spine and realized that they were no longer alone. Someone was standing right behind her. Before she could stop Neville, he continued. "And well, I suppose I was hoping that –"

"Oh, for the love of Merlin, Longbottom, just spit it out already." A cold voice came from behind them. Ginny immediately tensed at the sound of his voice as she whirled around to face Draco Malfoy standing just a few feet away from them.

"What the hell are you doing here, Malfoy?" Ginny asked, hatred and anger seeping out of her through her words. She clenched her fists at her side in an attempt to stop herself from drawing her wand on him before he truly deserved it.

"Well, aren't we touchy today." Draco said haughtily. He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked down his nose at her. "I'm just trying to help you know. Longbottom here clearly wants to ask you to the ball and is having a bit of trouble. I'm just trying to help the less fortunate create a love match."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Just shove off, will you, Malfoy?" She asked, very annoyed at this point. "If Neville was going to ask me to the ball, I'm quite sure he is capable of doing it on his own without any assistance from you!"

Draco sneered at her. "It's a shame, really, that Longbottom here can't do any better than a dirt poor Weasley with no taste and no class."

Ginny raised an eyebrow and looked at him skeptically. "Really? And who are you going with- Pug-faced Pansy?" She asked. "I'd hardly call Pansy a girl of taste or class. I'm pretty sure she'd go after anyone who has a bit of gold in Gringotts."

"Why don't you just shut up, Weasley?" Draco asked, his anger was becoming quite visible as he took a step towards her. His own fists were balled up at his sides and she could tell he was trying desperately to contain himself. She had to keep herself from smiling. She loved watching him lose control. She was just itching for him to pull his wand on her so she could throw a curse or a jinx at him.

"Why should I?" She asked in defiance. "You're the one who started all of this mess. Why don't you just shove off and go find one of those creatures you call friends. Just leave us alone, Malfoy."

Draco glared at her and walked up directly in front her so that his nose was almost touching hers. "I'd learn to keep my mouth shut, if I were you, little girl." He snarled at her. Ginny glared back, refusing to step down from this confrontation. It was then that Ginny realized that she should probably be a little more uncomfortable than she was with just how close he was to her.

Fortunately for her, Draco stepped back, his glare easing only slightly. He looked back at Neville and then at Ginny again. "I suppose it's a match made in hell. One who can't afford proper robes for the event and one who can't walk, let alone dance. I'm sure you two will have a lovely time."

With that he spun around and stormed off.

Ginny let out a sigh of relief and turned back to Neville. "Nev, I'm so sorry about all of that." She said softly. She found it odd that she was having a hard time breathing, as if she had just run up several flights of stairs. She hated that just a confrontation with Malfoy could leave her so drained.

Neville shrugged. "He was right about one thing, I suppose." He said with a lopsided grin on his face.

Ginny cocked her head to the side in curiosity. "What's that?" She asked.

Neville smiled at her. "I wanted to ask you if you'd go to the dance with me." She could still see that he was quite nervous about asking her. _Please say yes._

Ginny was startled when she heard Neville's voice in her head. She tried to contain her shock at hearing his thoughts long enough that she could answer his question.

"Nev, I'd be honored to go to the ball with you."

* * *

><p><em>December 25, 1994<br>__Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

The next week and a half flew by and before Ginny knew what was happening Christmas Day had arrived. It was a bright and crisp day, and Ginny welcomed it with a smile. Once she got herself cleaned up, she threw on her robe and headed down for the common room.

The common room was bustling with activity as students from all years wished each other a "Happy Christmas" and chatted about the presents they had received. Several first years had gotten more Exploding Snaps and were now having a tournament off in one corner. There was a dull roar throughout the common room and it made Ginny smile. She stood on the bottom step that led to the girls' dormitories and took in the happy scene in front of her.

She spotted her brothers, Harry, and Hermione sitting over by the fire place. Each of them had a modestly sized pile of presents in front of them. Ginny smiled and made her way over to them.

"Happy Christmas, everyone!" She said cheerfully as she sat down on the plush carpet next to them.

"Happy Christmas, Ginny!" Hermione said happily. "Are you ready for the ball tonight?"

Ginny shrugged. "I suppose I'm ready for it. I'm pretty excited that I get to go at all." She said.

Ron remained suspiciously quiet and Harry was glancing around the common room, rather oblivious to the conversation happening in front of him. Ginny's heart constricted painfully as she realized that he was probably thinking of Cho. She was very aware of his crush on the older girl.

Shaking off the heartache, Ginny turned her attention back to Hermione as she prattled on about her plans for the ball later that night. She managed to sit there with them for a good hour before she asked who wanted to go outside for a quick snowball fight.

Ginny quickly paired up with Fred and George while Ron, Harry, and Hermione naturally teamed up. Ginny loved being out in the snow. Winter had always been Ginny's favorite time of year. She loved the way that snow made everything look beautiful and brand new. Even the ugliest things could look beautiful when they were covered in white with icicles dripping off of them.

They spent most of the afternoon outside in their snowball fight. It was eventually Hermione who realized that it was getting late and that everyone needed to get back upstairs to start getting ready. Ginny felt her stomach do a weird little flip as she thought about the upcoming evening.

All of the girls in her year had promised that they would help her get ready since none of them had been able to snag invitations to the ball themselves. Ginny had been infinitely grateful for the offer. She wasn't a complete disaster when it came to make up and fashion, but she knew that several other girls in her house were far better at those glamour charms than she was. She had been relatively successful at picking out a dress that complimented her figure and her coloring with minimal supervision.

She had found a dark green dress that had been fitted around the torso but flared out at the hips and traveled all the way down to her ankles. There were spaghetti straps that crossed over each other in the back. Ginny thought that it suited her and was still conservative enough to be acceptable for the dress code.

When she arrived back in her dormitory, all of the other girls were waiting on her. She suppressed a giggle as she realized that the girls were a little more excited about her going to the ball than she was. She was excited, but she was getting rather nervous at the thought of having to dance with Neville all night. He was a bit clumsy and she was certain her toes would be hurting tomorrow for more than just her pinchy shoes. She hoped that she could get at least one dance with another partner.

As soon as Ginny got in her room, she grabbed her dress and headed straight for the bathrooms. She was anxious to show the girls her dress so they could help her finish getting ready. She quickly peeled off all of her wet clothes and threw them in a pile on the floor. She looked at herself in the mirror and tried to admire what was there.

She didn't have a terrible figure. Her body was small and her stomach flat. Her hips had a gentle curve to them and her breasts were finally starting to grow to a decent enough size that boys were taking notice. She had a nice bum that she was rather proud of and was sure that more than one wizard had taken to looking at when she walked away.

Her nose was small and her hair was long. It was so long it almost reached all the way down to her waist. That was one thing she was rather proud of: her hair. She loved how long and straight it was. It was shiny and sleek and she knew several girls in school were jealous of her gorgeous hair. Ginny smiled to herself as she turned away from her reflection and looked at her dress.

She reached for it and slowly pulled it off the hanger. She slid her fingers over the material of the dress, appreciating the satin feel of the fabric. A small smile tugged at her lips as she pushed her arms through the bottom of the dress and slid it over her head. The material came down over her body like a caress and she almost moaned at how nice the fabric felt against her skin. She rarely got to wear anything quite so luxurious and she would be damned if she didn't take the time to enjoy it.

Once she was certain the dress was secure over her body, she stepped out of the bathroom and back into the dormitory. The girls in her year all gasped at the sight of her. Ginny felt as if she were on display and was suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She moved her arms up to cover herself.

"Ginny!" One girl gasped at her. "You are so beautiful!"

Ginny blushed and lowered her head. She was not used to praise when it came to her appearance. "Thank you." She said softly.

There was another moment of quiet before all hell broke loose. The dormitory was chaotic as the girls clamored over themselves in an attempt to get to Ginny. Several girls were arguing over what to do with her hair and another two girls were trying to decide what shade of eye shadow would look best with the dress she was wearing.

Ginny wanted to interject but found that she was unable to get her voice heard. She sighed to herself and started moving to a chair that was nearby. If she was going to be fussed over like this, then she was going to do it while sitting down. She closed her eyes and let go of her anxiety as she placed her trust in the hands of five other 13 year olds.

An hour and a half later, Ginny emerged from the chaos looking like a completely different person. She had to admit that the girls had outdone themselves and she was ecstatic at how well her hair and make up had turned out.

Her make up was light and natural looking. The girls in charge of her make up had chosen to go with browns and neutral colors. She had a pale blush on her freckled cheeks and various shades of brown and gold on her eye lids. Her mascara and eye liner were a deep brown and very subtle. She looked more like she had thick lashes instead of make up on. Ginny couldn't have asked for a better job from any one.

Her hair was just as gorgeous. Half of it was pulled up and piled on top of her head while the rest cascaded down her back in soft curls. The fact that anyone got her hair to curl and to stay that way was a miracle. Even with magic her hair often fell flat after just a couple of moments. Ginny made a mental note to ask them how they did that.

Completely satisfied with her appearance, she slipped on her shoes and grabbed her clutch before turning back to her housemates. She gave them a big grin and a wink before she opened the door and went down to the common room. Neville was standing at the bottom of the stairs with several other Gryffindor boys his age and older.

Neville looked very nervous as she stood there waiting. Once he caught site of Ginny, his face went red with a blush and she almost felt sorry for him. He was such a nice boy and she really hoped that he would get past his shy and awkward side so that people would give him more of a chance. Smiling proudly at her date, she descended the stairs with a grace that she didn't know she possessed.

_Must be the dress and shoes._ She thought to herself as she came to a stop in front of Neville.

"Good evening, Neville." She said sweetly. The excitement she had felt the past couple of days was starting to return, completely taking away the anxiety she had felt earlier in the day.

"Hello, Ginny." Neville said. His face was still a little red and Ginny gently grabbed his arm, hoping to put him at ease.

They walked slowly down to the Great Hall and Ginny was thrilled to see that the decorations for the event were outstanding. The person in charge had really outdone themselves. It was like a magical winter wonderland and Ginny had never felt more like a princess than she did on that night.

Neville was a gentleman, offering her a drink and leading her to a table where she could sit down for a minute. As the ball started going, she found herself anxious to dance and Neville was quick to ask her.

He was a better dancer than she was expecting, but she was still having to keep a watch out for her toes. She made it through three dances with Neville before she excused herself to get a drink and rest her feet. Neville smiled politely at her and went to talk to some of his friends from his year.

Ginny walked up to the punch table and quickly poured herself a drink. She took one sip and sighed in relief.

"Was it worth it, coming to the ball just to have that oaf step all over your toes?" The voice she was really beginning to hate came from directly behind her right ear.

Ginny slammed her drink down and swirled around to face him. She glared up at Draco Malfoy who was standing very closely while he sneered down at her. He was looking extremely handsome that night. That fact just made Ginny even more angry. "What's it to you, Malfoy?" She demanded. "Why do you care?"

"I don't really care." Draco said. "I just thought since you were alone, that I could come rub your face in the fact that the only person who even asked you was the one person no other girl wanted to go with."

Ginny's gaze narrowed and she folded her arms over her chest. "Neville is a very nice boy. I don't know why you feel like you have to belittle him so much. No one's forcing you to be friends with him or talk to him or be anywhere near him." She said angrily.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Stop jumping to his defenses. You're only doing that because you feel obligated to do so since he asked you to the ball."

"That's not true!" Ginny protested a little too loudly. "Neville is my friend!"

Draco raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really? When was the last time you two spent any time together outside of classes or studying?" He asked.

Ginny opened her mouth to respond, but when she couldn't answer, she wrinkled her nose at him in disgust. "I still want to know why you care so much about who I am or am not friends with, Malfoy." She said in a low voice.

"I really, really don't care at all, Weasley." He said with a snarl.

"Then why are you here bothering me?!" Ginny demanded of him. She was shocked at the small amount of control she lost during that last question. She was so frustrated with this boy and his constant teasing and provocation. She just wanted it to stop.

"I just wanted to point out the lack of dancing skills in your dance partner." Draco said. He shifted ever so slightly in his spot. Ginny thought she detected a hint of nervous energy from him. She pushed the thought aside as ridiculous. There was no way that Draco Malfoy was nervous about anything when it came to her. If anything, he was feeling the same anger and hatred she was.

"If you're so concerned about my dancing partner, then why don't you put your money where your mouth is?" She asked haughtily. As soon as the words were out she wanted to slap a hand over her mouth and take them back. She knew that she could never admit that kind of mistake in front of Malfoy, so she resisted the urge. Instead, she stared at him, daring him to accept her challenge.

"You want _me_ to dance with _you_?" Malfoy asked in disbelief. "Why on earth would you want that?"

Ginny nodded. "I want you to prove to me that you have the right to criticize Neville's dancing skills. If you're as good a dancer as you seem to think you are, then I won't say another word about the subject."

Draco looked her up and down for a moment as if appraising her. Once again Ginny felt as if she were on display, but unlike in the common room, she didn't particularly like this feeling. The way his eyes raked over her made her feel as if he could see straight through her. She faintly heard the music start up again and recognized it as a waltz.

"What do you say, Malfoy?" She asked with a falsely sweet smile on her face. "Waltz with me?" She held out her hand.

For any other two people this would have looked like a friendly moment, but for Draco and Ginny it was wrought with tension and hatred. Draco reached out to grab her hand, and was shocked at the amount of warmth that it held. In what seemed like one graceful move, he pulled her close to him and swirled them into a little corner just a couple feet from the punch table.

He pulled her close into the proper stance for a waltz and then leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I will prove to you how well I can dance, Weasley." He hissed. "But I will not let this school think that there is _anything_ going on between us. Even a dance."

Ginny nodded her agreement, but didn't say a word. It seemed that the ability to speak had left her. With little warning, Draco started to lead them around their little corner. Ginny was stunned at how smooth Draco's dancing was. She allowed herself to fall gracefully in step with him as he gently pushed her around the floor. She supposed she should have known he would be a good dancer. She had a suspicion that he was made to learn ballroom dancing as a child.

Ginny found that she could not take her eyes away from Draco's face. He was staring at her with that intense gaze that made her feel nervous and tingly all at once. She never noticed before that his eyes were more than just gray. The almost seemed silver in this light. Had he been any other person, she might have found it attractive.

The waltz ended and Ginny was surprised when she felt a twinge of disappointment. It had been so nice to dance with someone who didn't step on her feet every other minute, even if that person was Draco Malfoy. She listened as the song came to its gentle conclusion. Almost immediately another song was starting up and she made to pull away from Malfoy, but he held her firmly in place.

He looked down at her with a mischievous and almost evil grin. "It's a tango!" He exclaimed in false excitement and surprise. His voice lowered to an almost growl. "Now it's your turn to prove your abilities, Weasley."

Before Ginny could respond, Draco had changed their posture to a proper embrace for tango. He took a small step closer to her so that there was only a couple of inches between them. He looked down at her challengingly. She raised an eyebrow and closed the distance between them, accepting his challenge. The air around them seemed to crackle and Draco felt a hitch in his breath at the further physical contact between them.

He started moving without any warning to Ginny whatsoever. She narrowed her gaze on him, staring directly into his eyes as she expertly followed him around their corner of the ballroom.

Draco was furious when he saw that Ginny could tango better than she could waltz. He had been itching to bring her down a few notches ever since he had seen her arrive on Longbottom's arm. The candles had given her a radiant glow as she walked in. Her dark green dress had swished around her hips and legs and Draco couldn't help but notice.

He noticed the elegant way she walked and how her hair looked like silk in the candle light. The sight of her had made him very angry. He took it as a personal front that she had made him think that a Weasley could actually be beautiful.

His intention had been to stay away from her all evening, but once he saw her slip off to the drink table, he had been unable to stop himself from walking towards her. The only thing that made him feel better about the whole situation was that he had immediately started taunting her. For a brief moment he was afraid he'd start flirting with her.

He focused his attention to her now, in his arms, as they danced the tango. Her ability to dance only angered him further and he poured that emotion right into the dance. He pushed her around with an intensity and grace that he had never felt before. He looked into her eyes and returned the glare that he found there.

He tried to trip her up. He crossed their steps back and forth several times. He made his movements subtle and tried to force her to fall, but she was too quick for him. It was almost as if she was anticipating his moves, as if she knew what he was going to do. Draco was an excellent leader but it was more than that with Ginny. She not only followed his subtle body movements, but she seemed to have prior knowledge of what was coming. It was as if they were one being- the way they were moving in unison.

He pulled her closer, which he didn't know was possible. Their chests were more than touching, they were pressed together. He made their steps longer by sinking her lower. His eyes never left hers as he added embellishments to his steps. She smirked at him when he did that, and she started doing the same. He even started moving faster. The music didn't matter. He could hardly hear it anymore anyways.

Draco was shocked at her reactions to his attempts to make her trip and felt his anger start to rise again. There was no way he'd let this girl get the best of him. He would be damned if she walked away without tripping at least once. But no matter what he did, she remained with him, her body following his every move as if she were attached to him.

Unable to do anything else, he poured his anger and his sheer frustration into the dance. The tango seemed to feed that anger and hatred for it started to grow. It was a blazing hot feeling in his chest and when he looked into Ginny's hazel eyes he could feel it getting stronger. She was glaring back at him, her steps had a confident and determined quality about them. Their steps increased in speed and both were panting for breath.

The song came to an end Draco stopped them abruptly. The abruptness of the stop sent Ginny tumbling forward slightly so that her head rested on his shoulder for the briefest of seconds. She instinctively tilted her head up to look at Draco who was still staring down at her.

Before either of them knew what was happening, his mouth had descended upon hers in a hot, angry kiss. Ginny was shocked at the fire that burned between their lips, but she met him head on by kissing him back with as much intensity as he was giving her. It was a fierce kiss that clearly spelled out for each of them exactly how the other felt. Ginny hated this boy with everything she had in her and with the pressure of his lips on hers, she knew he felt the same way.

They broke apart, each taking a step back as they did so. Before she knew what had happened, her hand had shot out and slapped him across the face. He looked shocked at her action, but his gaze immediately returned to the glare. Ginny was furious at his bold actions and even more furious with herself for responding to him in such a manner. Draco seemed to be having similar thoughts because the look on his face spoke of anger and confusion.

"I don't know what the hell that was, Weasley." Draco said as he tried to catch his breath. "But that is never going to happen again."

Ginny glared at him. "I wouldn't dream of ever kissing a prat like you." She practically spat at him. "You were the one who kissed me first."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I don't care who started it. But you had better not tell a soul that this happened or I will make your life a living hell." He nearly growled at her.

Ginny gave him a curt nod in agreement. "Trust me, I don't want anyone knowing how much I have touched you." She said with a conceited air. If she had been anyone else, Draco might have been proud at how well she pulled that off.

The two students looked at each other for just one more minute before they simultaneously turned and when their separate ways. Neither were willing to admit to the confusion that plagued their minds.

Later that night after the ball had ended, Draco trudged down to the dungeons to get ready for bed. It had been an exhausting night and all he wanted was a good night's sleep. He quietly changed out of his dress robes and put them away in his trunk. He slipped into his pajamas and made his way towards his desk.

He picked up his wand and held it to his head. A silvery strand came floating out of his temple, attached to the tip of his wand. He moved the wand over the top of the pensieve and let the memory drop. He put his wand back on his bedside table and then walked back over to the pensieve. As he peered into the silver liquid an image started to appear of him and Ginny Weasley dancing the tango together.

Draco leaned over the bowl to fully examine the memory. He watched their every move, checking for any single mistakes made by either part. He watched it two more times to make sure he didn't miss anything. He studied the details of the memory until they were burned permanently into his memory. When the memory came to the kiss, Draco's body hummed with heat at the memory of her soft lips against his. When he was certain that the dance had been perfect, he was struck with a sudden thought that made him freeze.

Ginny Weasley, the skinny blood traitor, was the best dance partner and best kisser he had ever had.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note: Why yes, I am still alive! As it turns out, I've been having a great deal of fun writing original fiction lately and had kind of forgotten that I really should finish my fanfic stories. I hope you guys like this one - their first kiss! Well, I guess second because he did kiss her when he was two, but I'm not sure that counts, lol. Let me know what you think!<strong>_


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